Gift of a New Life
by ZavierHale
Summary: This story recounts the tale of the Yukimuras and their impact on the fate of the Shinsengumi. From their beginnings to their ends, their family have touched the lives of all the captains. Changing everyone's lives for better or for worse... A/N: Pairings, rating, and tags will be changed accordingly as chapters are updated. This story is planned to eventually be rated Explicit.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**  
So, this is my first time actually posting one of my stories really anywhere actually. I'm fairly proud of this piece of work so far and I hope you all enjoy reading what my brain churns out. At the moment, I'm mostly posting this over on my tumblr ( edomusings) so if you want to read the chapters before they get posted here, they'll definitely be up over there. Thanks for giving this AU a chance and please, if you like it or don't like it, feel free to tell me about it. P.S. Sorry these first couple chapters are so short. Hopefully I'll be able to make them longer for later chapters.

\- Zee

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Everything was a blur as a dark haired woman sprinted past burning trees and deeper into the dark forest to escape the massacre behind them. The wound she had received on her side while trying to escape was excruciating, but that was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart. Everyone and everything was gone. All except her dear little sister that she carried tightly in her arms as she ran away from the burning village. The adrenaline that coursed through her veins allowed her to get far into the depths of the dark forest, but she didn't stop until she knew for sure that the humans had given up on chasing them.

Her chest heaved as she finally stopped running, her lungs burning for air, but this was no time to stop moving. She clutched the sobbing girl while limping through the forest and forced herself to push on despite the gaping wound on her side. She had to keep her only remaining family safe from harm. She couldn't protect her little brother, but she would be damned if she didn't give everything she had left to protect her little sister. But she knew it couldn't be that easy. She couldn't die and leave her poor sister on her own in a world filled with humans. She had to live for her sister's sake.

"It'll be okay, Chizuru. We're going to be okay." She knew what she said was a complete and utter lie. She had no idea what to do or where to go. All she could do was hold her little sister closer to her neck, hoping her scent would be enough to calm the girl down, but even that was a shot in the dark. After everything that had happened that night, something as simple as her scent wasn't going to be enough. But that was better than nothing. Her scent would remind her that she wasn't alone. That she still had someone there for her. That there was someone who would take care of her and stay with her no matter what life threw at them.

After what felt like hours of aimless wandering, her body finally began to give in to its wounds. With the amount of blood that she lost and the agony of losing practically her entire family, the woman barely managed to brace herself against a nearby tree before slumping to the forest ground, unconscious. Chizuru, who had fallen into a fitful sleep, was jolted awake from the fall and the feeling of her sister's arms loosening around her body.

"Nee-san?" Her hesitant voice was the only sound in the early dawn making her feel all the much smaller and alone. The rays from the emerging sun shining through the trees brought her no comfort at all as they reminded her too much of the burning flames that engulfed her home. Tears once again began to stream down her face as she begged and cried for her sister to wake up, but no matter how loud she was or hard she shook her, the woman wouldn't move.

Chizuru was terrified. She didn't want to be left alone.

But there wasn't anything she could do. She wasn't anything like her sister, mother, or any of the females in her village who could help heal wounds just by being near an injured oni. She was too young and too inexperienced to be any help at all. All she could do was crawl under her sister's limp arm and curl up next to her, hoping that maybe just maybe she could be able to help.

Suddenly, the rustling of leaves caused the tiny girl to look toward the noise in fear and she hastily scrambled back around in an attempt to hide from whatever was coming. She could hear the noises getting louder and clenched her eyes shut, gripping the fabric of her sister's kimono.

"Oi, why are you being so noisy?" An annoyed boy's voice sounded above her small frame and she hesitantly cracked one eye open to see a messy haired brunet glaring down at her. Chizuru let out a panicked squeak and turned back to try and hide from the stranger.

"You woke me up with your screaming and now you won't say anything? Why- woah. Hey, she doesn't look okay." The boy noticed the bloodstained material of the woman the kid was hiding under and by the looks of how much of the fabric was stained red, he could tell she wouldn't be okay if he let them be. Even though he had just met them and already despised the fact that his sleep was interrupted, the woman in a way reminded him of his own sister.

Chizuru could hear footsteps quickly leaving their location, but she refused to make a single move until the only sounds left were the sounds of the forest. The young girl quickly crawled out from under her sister's arm and desperately tried to wake her, but to no avail.

"Nee-san, please wake up! We have to go before he comes back! Nee-san!" However, her quiet pleas were only met with her sister's shallow ragged breathing. The smell of blood overwhelmed all her senses and she didn't notice the sound of voices nearing until it was too late.

"Kondo-san, I think they were over there." Chizuru heard the voice from before coming back and it sounded like he had brought someone else with him too. She frantically looked around for something that could be used to defend herself and the two swords that hung on her sister's hip caught her eye. Scrambling toward them, she tried to pull one out of its sheath, but they were pinned and much too heavy for her to even attempt lifting.

"Are you alright, little one?" Suddenly, Chizuru heard a kind voice and she turned around to see the same boy from before and another older man kneeling next to him. They were humans! Had they followed them all the way from their village to finally finish the two of them off while her sister was injured and couldn't defend herself?

"Don't be scared. We're not here to hurt you, we're only here to help." The man could see the poor girl was terrified and trembling as soon as they made their presence known. He could tell the two had been through something awful from the blood and dirt smeared on their clothing, and he wanted to calm the girl down the best he could so he could help them.

"My name is Kondo Isami. What's your name?" He tried for a simple enough question that wouldn't panic the scared girl and would be easy enough for her to answer.

"Chi-chizuru…" She tried not to sound scared, but that was hard enough seeing that he was a stranger, but it was even harder knowing that he was a human that could hurt them. The man seemed to be pleased with her answer and stood up, slowly walking over then kneeling down near her.

"Well Chizuru-chan, I think your friend needs some help. We're going to help her, okay?" The little girl was still nervous about the two people and especially because they were humans too. She really didn't want to trust them, but she didn't know what else she would be able to do alone to help her sister. Chizuru nervously nodded and allowed Kondo to gently pick her sister off the forest floor, mindful not to agitate her wound any more than necessary.

"Hey, come on. You don't want to leave her, right?" The brunet had walked over to her and held his hand out, waiting for her to take it. His expression was slightly annoyed, but she nervously reached out to hold it regardless as the older man gently carried her sister out of the forest. All she could do was follow the two humans and hope they would be okay in the end.

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 **Thanks for reading! I'll hopefully be updating weekly!**


	2. Chapter 1 - New Faces

**Author's Notes:**  
Sorry these first couple chapters are so short, but I'm actually having so much fun writing this AU. I've never really had the motivation to actually finish any of my AUs but seeing that some of you like it and are actually looking forward to it gives me the motivation to keep going. So to all those people, you know who you are. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  
-Zee

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Fire. Fire as far as the eye could see. No matter how fast she ran, there was no escaping the raging inferno. The ash filled air stung her eyes and left her choking until she was finally swallowed by the unyielding flames.

Chizuru was startled awake when her sister, who she had been curled up next to, abruptly sat up with a panicked expression on her face. Her eyes were wide with fear as she frantically looked around the room until her gaze landed on the concerned girl next to her.

"Chizuru! Oh thank goodness!" The woman scooped up the little girl into her arms and held her tight, as if she might disappear at any moment. Chizuru had stayed by her sister's side ever since the doctor Kondo brought by left after tending the wound. The kind man had tried to make her more comfortable and even offered her a small flower shaped candy, but she had shied away by hiding under the futon her sister had been laid on. She didn't want to leave her sister's side even for a moment, waiting for her to wake, but that had been hours ago and morning had already turned to dusk.

"Nee-san!" Chizuru had been so scared her sister would never wake, but now tears of relief began to stream down her cheeks and her sobs echoed in the small room. Even the woman wasn't exempt from the young girl's emotions and had tears already gathering at the corners of her eyes. She held the crying girl close to her neck and carded her fingers through her hair like she had always done.

"It's alright Chizuru. I'm here. Nee-san's here." Her quiet reassuring words slowly calmed the girl until her cries died into soft sniffling. For the first time all day, Chizuru finally felt safe. She had her sister back and that was all that mattered.

"Excuse me, Chizuru-chan? I'm coming in." A male voice announced his presence before the door slid open to reveal the man from that morning kneeling outside with a tray of food. The woman immediately saw the human as a threat and hid Chizuru behind herself, grabbing her katana that had been set beside her futon and drawing it in one graceful movement.

"Stay the hell away from us!" Kondo looked at the silver blade in astonishment and fear. He had noticed Chizuru's older companion carried two beautifully crafted swords, but he never expected a woman to wield them with such skill. But it was the tone of her voice that made him flinch and slowly back away from the open door. However, it was the quiet sound of Chizuru's voice that ultimately saved him from actually making a break for it.

"Nee-san, wait! Kondo-san helped us!" Chizuru grabbed her sister's sleeve to try and tell her that the human had helped them and did not serve as a threat, but even then the woman was still wary of him. She had trusted humans once, but look where that had got them.

"I'll give you one chance to explain yourself. Who are you and what is this place? What do you want with us? Answer carefully, _or else._ " She could feel her sister still tugging at her sleeve to get her attention, but she wanted to hear the truth from the human himself. Either the human was going to tell her what she needed to hear or he wouldn't live to see the next sunrise.

"M-my name is Kondo Isami. One of my students found you and your sister in the forest. You were badly injured so we brought you to my dojo to heal from your wounds." His usually steady voice trembled as he spoke to the woman, but he said all that he could and he could only hope she believed him.

"Nee-san, please don't hurt Kondo-san. He really did help us. He even called a doctor for you." The woman's eyes went wide with surprise at Chizuru's plea and immediately her entire body relaxed. She sheathed away her blade then turned to face the man as best she could without bothering her wound and bowed her head.

"I see. I apologize for my behavior." Kondo could only stare at the woman in surprise. Gone was the deadly warrior from moments ago and instead there sat a proper young lady. Chizuru noticed her sister bowing and hastily bowed to Kondo as well. She knew if her sister was bowing then she should as well, after all it was the least she could do to show respect to the person who had taken them in.

"N-no, please! There's no need for that. I only did what I thought was right and helped another person in need. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I should have realized you would be unfamiliar with your surroundings, especially after what happened." The woman could tell his words were genuine and really had no intention of hurting her or her sister. She lifted her head with Chizuru following suit after peeking up to see when to stop bowing.

"How rude of me, please come in." Kondo entered the small room, carefully bringing in the tray after himself then gently sliding the door close.

"I know it's not much, but please help yourselves." He placed the tray of food next to the futon then sat back to wait for the sisters to eat. It had been an entire day since the last time Chizuru ate and at the sight of simple miso soup, rice, and a small plate of vegetables had her stomach growling loudly.

"Go ahead and eat first, Chizuru." The woman pushed the tray closer to the hungry girl and her innocent eyes lit up with happiness as she quickly clapped her hands together. After thanking Kondo for the food, Chizuru quickly dug in to the smaller bowl of rice without a second thought. She noticed her sister's amused expression out of the corner of her eye and bashfully started eating slower. The woman just smiled at Chizuru's sudden switch in behavior, but soon returned her attention to the other presence in the room. She had to tell him something, but she couldn't just tell him everything. Her words had to be precise and deliberate.

"I think it would only be right if I told you our story after all that you've done for us." Her words caught Chizuru's attention and and she dropped the near empty wood bowl, looking at her sister with scared eyes. She didn't want to hear about what had happened. A small whimper escaped the girl as her sister scooped her up and and held her close, gently rubbing circles on her back. There was nothing she could say to comfort the girl; even she didn't want to believe what happened.

"Chizuru and I lived in a small village in the mountains. It was a quiet place with kind people and we kept to our own, not wanting to get involved with outside problems. But one day we were attacked. Our village was surrounded and everyone and everything was burned to the ground. It was a miracle I was able to get Chizuru to safety with just a single wound, but...the two of us are the sole survivors. We only have each other left. " She could feel Chizuru's small frame shaking in her arms and her tears through the thin fabric of her kimono. Her eyes became downcast as she recalled every bloody memory, and she held the crying girl even tighter.

"I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what the two of you must be going through." Kondo couldn't believe what he heard. He knew the world was a cruel place, but to completely destroy a village and its people; it was an atrocious waste of life. The woman was quiet as if to give a moment for the memories of the past to pass and to remember all those who had been lost.

"I would rather not dwell on painful memories..." An uncomfortable silence filled the room and even Chizuru's sniffles had died down. Kondo couldn't think of a single thing to say that could help, but the woman spoke up to break the silence instead.

"I remember you telling me one of your students found us. Do you know where he is? I would like to thank him." The change in topic immediately lifted the heavy atmosphere and Kondo was all too grateful for it.

"Ah, yes. His name is Okita Souji, he's one of my youngest and most talented students. Let me see if I can find him for you." The man stood up and slid open the door only to find the boy kneeling right outside.

"Souji. Were you listening in on us?" Kondo looked down at the brunet disapprovingly and crossed his arms while the boy just looked away to break eye contact. He had actually been listening in ever since the door first closed, but not just because he wanted to know what they were talking about. He had been curious about the two new people, especially the older woman. Souji slowly nodded which just earned him a tired sigh from the instructor. Kondo knew the boy always had a knack for getting himself into trouble, but he was still young and most of the time whatever he did was harmless. Most of the time.

"You might as well come in then. There's someone who would like to see you." Souji reluctantly stepped into the room and kneeled in front of the two strangers as Kondo closed the door behind him. His curious eyes wandered over to the young girl he had met that morning. It looked like the kid had been exhausted from the partial retelling of their story and had fallen asleep right there in her sister's arms, her eyes swollen from crying. What a troublesome kid.

"Souji-kun, right? Thank you for finding us. I don't think I would talking to you now if you hadn't." The woman's warm words reminded him of a time before he was taken in by the dojo. Memories of his own big sister flashed through his mind and what he wanted more than anything at the moment was to be held just like how the girl was.

"I didn't really do anything." His voice was quiet, almost to the point where even he couldn't really recognize it, but the woman just smiled sweetly at him. This wasn't normally how he acted, but everything about the situation made his behavior milder than usual. It was strange. His mind was comfortably blank when he realized something.

"Onee-san, what's your name?" The woman realized she had never introduced herself properly until then and finally gave them her name.

"My name is Yukimura Mayumi and this is my sister, Yukimura Chizuru, but I think you two have already met." The girl in her arms let out a sleepy groan when she heard her name, but didn't wake up. Mayumi's expression softened and she gently pressed her lips to Chizuru's forehead. Kondo smiled at the sweet gesture between the sisters and placed a hand on Souji's back.

"You must be tired. I'll come to see you again in the morning." Kondo and Souji bid the woman good night before leaving the two sisters alone for the night. Mayumi, careful not to wake Chizuru or reopen her wound, slowly laid down on the futon and pulled the blanket over both of them. She didn't know what the future had in store, but she knew one thing for sure. For better or for worse, their lives from this moment forth would be drastically changed.

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 **Thanks for reading! Tune in next week hopefully for the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 2 - Exploring

**Author's Notes:**  
Sorry this chapter is late! Hopefully this will kinda make up for my absence? Maybe?  
-Zee

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Chizuru was in a sea of warmth. On one side, her sister held her tight and on top of them, the thick blanket kept them comfortably warm. The little girl was as content as could be, sleeping peacefully, her mind devoid of any thoughts or dreams.

That was until she felt something poke her cheek. She tried to dismiss the sensation as Mayumi's hand accidentally brushing her in her sleep and Chizuru curled inward to try and move away from it. However, whatever was doing that persisted and poked her again, but this time with much more force than before. She let out an annoyed groan and attempted to bury herself deeper into the blankets. She just wanted to sleep without whatever was bothering her to disturb the sacred hours of rest.

Suddenly, a sharp tug on her cheek had her throwing her arm out from under the covers to make whatever it was go away. She had expected to just shoo them away, but instead of air, the back of her hand met with something solid. The resounding smack filled the silent room and Chizuru, having been rudely awakened, finally got a clear look at her assailant.

Souji just wanted to see the two new people again, however, his mischievousness had once again gotten the better of himself and there he was holding his reddening cheek with a shocked expression. He figured a poke or two would get the kid to wake up, but she seemed to be too comfortably asleep to be bothered. Still, the tug had in fact gotten her to wake up; just not in the way he expected.

"Oww…" He rubbed at the stinging area where Chizuru's hand hit in an attempt to make the pain go away. He didn't even notice said girl was now very much awake until he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. She was once again hidden underneath the blanket and only her nervous brown eyes peeked out. Man, this kid.

When Chizuru realized who she had accidentally hit, she quickly scrambled back under the blanket, terrified that she had struck the very person who saved her sister and herself. She really didn't mean to hurt the boy, but he was bothering her while she was sleeping. What did he think was going to happen? Nevertheless, she was scared what his reaction would be after seeing the offended expression on his face, however, she never expected what he was about to say next.

"Hey, are you gonna stay under there all day? Ow, shit. You got me good." Souji rubbed a particularly sore spot on his cheek that sent shooting pain on that side of his face. Chizuru felt bad as she watched the older boy, but she was much too scared to say a thing. She would much rather stay quiet than say something that could come out wrong and just settled with shaking her head.

"Jeeze…" The boy just sighed at her response and thought for a moment. He really didn't want to babysit the kid, but he also didn't feel like going to class, so if this was what he had to do as an excuse, then he would do it.

"Hey. Will you come out if I go with you?" Chizuru was surprised at Souji's offer. He didn't seem like the type of person who would offer to help a person he barely knew. She was conflicted. On one hand, she had indeed been stuck inside the confining room for a little over a day and she really wanted to know what the outside looked like, but on the other, she didn't want to leave her sister by herself. She could tell Souji was getting impatient with her and she had to make a decision soon before he took back his offer.

"I-I guess.." Her voice barely came out louder than a whisper, but that was all the confirmation Souji needed. He stood up and slid open the door, letting a few rays of light shine into the dimly illuminated room. Chizuru crawled out from under the blanket and covered her eyes, slowly letting them get accustomed to the early morning sun. She hadn't realized just how early Souji had woken her up at until she felt the chilly air of dawn biting at her body. She walked over to the open door and her eyes went wide with awe when she finally looked outside. The yard was bathed in a soft glow with a layer of mist covering the area, giving it an almost otherworldly image. The morning dew sparkled on the plants and the quiet twittering of song birds was the only noise that floated in the air.

"Pretty…" Chizuru took in the beautiful morning landscape while Souji nodded in agreement. It really was a beautiful sight. While he did find the kid fairly annoying, he had to admit she had decent taste in scenery.

"Yeah, I guess there's one good thing about getting up early." He looked at the view he saw every morning since the day he got to Shiei hall. It was one of the few things that always seemed to bring a smile to his face first thing in the day. Perhaps it was because his own sister, Mitsu, enjoyed taking him out for morning strolls while he still lived at home.

"Come on. I'll show you the rest of the dojo." Souji quietly slid the door closed and walked down the hall, not even waiting to see if Chizuru was following him. It wasn't until he heard quick little footsteps catching up and felt a hand grabbing the arm of his kimono did he finally realize she was indeed following. Man this kid was clingy, but he ignored it and let it slide just this once.

Souji led her down a couple more halls when Chizuru smelled a delicious aroma floating in the air. Her stomach growled loudly, making the older boy look down at her in a somewhat amused manner. Luckily for her, he was feeling slightly generous and dragged her toward the smell. He already had breakfast with the rest of the other students and instructors when he had found an opening to sneak out of morning practice, and now here he was peeking around the corner into the kitchen.

"I guess you're in luck. There's probably some leftovers from breakfast." There wasn't anyone in the kitchen since everyone was supposed to be in class at the moment. Souji casually strolled inside while Chizuru still nervously clung onto his sleeve. He grabbed a nearby stool and climbed it, having spotted some leftover rice and vegetables left on the counter. Chizuru had to let go of his sleeve for a moment to let the older boy work, but grabbed the side of his kimono instead. He quickly shaped the cooling food into a crude onigiri then stepped back down to hand the ball of rice to her.

"I'm not as good as Kondo-san, but this is probably good enough." Chizuru's eyes lit up as she happily accepted the food with both hands and was about to take a large bite, but remembered her manners and shyly took a small bite instead.

"Who are you trying to impress? You're hungry right? Just eat normally." Man, he really couldn't believe this kid. Then again he couldn't really blame her, he had acted the exact same way when he first came to live at the dojo. Now that he really thought about Chizuru's situation, the two of them weren't really all that different. He watched her eat happily and frown a few bites later, having stopped about half way through. Maybe he had made it too big for her to finish?

"Nee-san hasn't eaten breakfast yet." So that was why. For being a kid, she really cared about her older sister, but Souji was sure no one would really like old food and he could tell the girl was still very hungry if the way she kept looking at the remaining half of onigiri was any indication.

"Just finish eating it. Kondo-san probably set aside some food for you and your onee-san, but I don't know where it is right now." Chizuru still looked conflicted about eating the rest, but when her stomach growled at her again she decided to eat the rest of it.

"I'll show you some of the other places." Souji took Chizuru to the back of the dojo to the bath house just to show her where it was when she needed to go there. It wasn't large per se, but it wasn't small either. It had a nice view of the rock garden and Chizuru suddenly had the urge to take a bath to enjoy it all, but Souji dragged her out then took her down a couple more halls until they were on the other side of dojo.

"Here's my room if you ever wanted to find me." Souji had brought her to a small room with a view of a small pond and yard with some well tended plants. There was nothing spectacular about the room, but Chizuru felt special to be shown his room. She didn't think Souji was a mean person, but he didn't seem like the person to make friends with everyone, so for him to share something like this to her made her happy. That was until a loud, but also familiar voice, could be heard from behind them.

"Souji! There you are! Why aren't you at- Oh, Chizuru-chan, I didn't see you there. Did you sleep well?" Kondo had noticed a certain mischievous student had not been present at the beginning of class and looked all over the dojo for the brunet boy with no luck. He had decided to look at Souji's room one more time and luckily heard the sound of his voice from around the corner. He originally wanted to scold the boy for skipping, but noticed the wide eyed gaze of Chizuru behind Souji. It seemed like Souji had been taking her around the compounds to help her become more acquainted with the layout. Chizuru nodded shyly from behind Souji and Kondo smiled in relief. He knew she was thrust into an unfamiliar place, so he was relieved to find out she was able to be somewhat comfortable.

"You must be hungry. If you don't mind waiting a moment, I can take you back to your room. I've already left some food for you and your onee-san when she wakes up." He had set aside some food and had planned to take it to them before they had woken up, but since he had to go around searching for the dojo's youngest student, he never had the time to.

"Umm! Souji-kun made me an onigiri so, please don't be mad at him." Chizuru didn't want Souji to get in trouble because of her and spoke up at the last minute to try and explain what had happened.

"Hmm, alright. I'll let you off this time Souji, but you're coming to class now." Kondo seemed to find Chizuru's explanation reasonable, but he still needed to get Souji to class in order to have the day's session started.

Yes, Kondo-san…" He had been careless and got caught, so there was no way for him to get out of it this time. He just offered Chizuru a defeated shrug and walked over to follow Kondo to the training room, thinking nothing of the girl now. He couldn't stay with her forever, so she had to fend for herself now.

"U-um!" Chizuru hesitantly piped up to catch Kondo's attention and nervously fidgeted under his gaze when she actually did get his attention. It took the young instructor a moment to realize what Chizuru was trying to say, but when he did he walked over and knelt next to the young girl.

"You don't really know your way around yet, do you Chizuru-chan? Well then, would you like to come watch the students train?" She had only been there for a day so she wouldn't be able to find her way back to her room even though Souji had showed her around earlier. There was no time for him to take her back to her room so the only other option he could think of was to take her with them to training.

"Yes, please!" Chizuru's eyes lit up at his offer and she quickly agreed. Kondo couldn't help but smile back from her infectious joy and held her hand as she lead her and Souji to the training room. The closer they got to the sparring hall, the louder the voices became and once Chizuru saw inside she immediately tried to hide behind Kondo. There were so many people in there and now they were all looking at her as they walked in, but Kondo ignored his rowdy students and walked up to the master of the dojo sitting at the edge of the room, overlooking all of the students.

"Shuusai-sensei, this is Yukimura Chizuru, the girl we took in yesterday. If it is alright with you, she would like to watch the other students train." Chizuru peeked out from behind Kondo's leg to get a better look at the older man. He didn't seem like a mean person. She assumed he would have a similar personality compared to Kondo and felt more at ease when she noticed the gentle smile directed at her.

"Of course she may. Come sit by me, Yukimura." Chizuru nervously left Kondo's side and kneeled down next to the kind older man. The students were paired off to spar and it wasn't too long after that the entire dojo was filled with the sounds of wooden bokken striking off each other.

"Are you interested in training too, Yukimura? Souji-kun is one of our more recent students, so it might be a good experience for you to watch him spar." She quickly scanned the room and found Souji facing off against another seemingly older and larger student. If she was in his place, she would be too scared to even move, but he didn't seem scared at all. Instead, he was calm and waited for his opponent to attack first. She practically jumped when she saw the other student's bokken almost hit Souji square in the head, but he had been able to read his opponent's movements and quickly ducked out of the way to strike the other boy instead. Everything happened so quickly that if she had blinked, she might have missed the entire thing.

"Souji-kun is so amazing." Chizuru stared at the boy in awe. He looked like he was around her age, but he was so much more talented than she could ever think of herself becoming.

"I agree, Yukimura. Souji is quite the extraordinary student. I truly believe he will become a great warrior one day." She nodded at Shuusai's words. She really could imagine Souji being very strong one day, but she didn't want to be left behind. Chizuru had a myriad of thoughts swirling through her mind, but one thought was louder than most.

She wanted to join the dojo and become stronger.

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 **Thanks for reading! Tune in next week hopefully for the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 3 - Broken Pieces

**Author's Notes:**  
The drama begins.  
-Zee

* * *

"Souji-kun is so amazing." Chizuru stared at the boy in awe. He looked like he was around her age, but he was so much more talented than she could ever dream of being.

"I agree, Yukimura. Souji is quite the extraordinary student. I truly believe he will become a great warrior one day." She nodded at Shuusai's words. She could easily imagine Souji being very strong one day, but she didn't want to be left behind. Chizuru had a myriad of thoughts swirling through her mind, but one stood out more than the others.

She wanted to join the dojo and become stronger.

 _And she couldn't wait to share it with her family._

* * *

Mayumi groggily rubbed her eyes with her forearm as sunlight streamed into her room, slowly waking up from her much needed sleep. She really didn't want to get up. Everything was too bright and her entire body ached. It took her a long while for her to finally open her eyes then sit up to take in her blurry surroundings. The whole room looked alien to her; from the placement of her futon to the strange and unfamiliar ceiling above her. Had she fallen asleep in a different room and otou-san had just decided to let her sleep there? No, there was no way. No matter where she fell asleep, she would always wind up back in her own room or a room she was familiar with.

Then where was she?

As her eyes began to focus, her confusion slowly turned into realization and then denial. She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to believe everyone was gone, but the gaping hole in her heart told her everything she didn't to know. Everything she remembered about that night; the burning, the promise, the screaming— all of it came flooding back to her in one overwhelming wave. She couldn't be in her room anymore because it wasn't there anymore. This wasn't her room. She wasn't at home anymore. This wasn't her village.

Everything was gone.

She didn't even realize she was crying until she felt tears splash against her hand. That was all she needed to finally break down. Everything had happened so quickly - the responsibility that had been thrust upon her and the terror of escaping alive left no room for grief, much less tears. But now all the the adrenaline she had been running on for the last two days was gone, and the emotions that had been restrained finally came pouring out. She had lost her home. her friends, her family; everything. Mayumi had to brace herself against the floor from the torrent and her hand knocked against something half obscured by the blankets. It was her blades.

Grabbing them off the floor, Mayumi clutched the two swords against her chest, hunched over and sobbing. They had been passed down to her by her mother and she had been taught how to use them by her father. They were one of the few things she had left to remember them by, the other being her sister. She looked down beside her where the girl should have been, but Chizuru was nowhere to be found. Panic immediately overtook her and she threw off the blanket with the intention of rushing out to look for the girl, but a stabbing pain in her side left her collapsed on the floor clenching her teeth waiting for the waves of agony to pass.

Mayumi shakily reached down and felt the bandages wrapped around her abdomen. The gunshot wound was still tender from that night and she expected it to stay that way for the next few bullet had pierced straight through, resulting in an ugly and jagged wound. And seeing that the wound hadn't completely healed overnight, she assumed the bullet had most likely been made from silver.

Unable to move much without aggravating her wound, Mayumi took a moment to gather her thoughts. Chizuru wasn't in the room, but there was no way she would wander off by herself in a place she didn't know, so the only reasonable explanation was that someone offered to show her around. A deep breath was all that was needed to confirm her suspicions. She could recognize Chizuru's scent and another one as well; one she didn't know very well, but was able to determine it belonged to either Kondo or Souji. She didn't even realize she had been holding her breath until she finally exhaled and all the tension left her body.

Now shifting her attention to her surroundings, Mayumi saw a tray of food and roll of clean bandages sitting by the door as well as a clean set of clothes, all which was untouched. She carefully laid her swords down on the floor then gently maneuvered herself into a comfortable sitting position and reached for the roll of bandages. She could tell her wound had reopened from her rash movements and opened the thin fabric of the white kimono to see red blooming on the previously white wrap.

"You moron." She cursed quietly at herself while dragging her hand over her face in exasperation. Mayumi unwrapped the bloody bandages from her torso and finally got a look of the wound she had received. There seemed to be some sort of powder that had been placed on the injury in order to stop the bleeding, but now it was turning red as the blood seeped past it. Using the cleaner part of her old bandage, Mayumi put pressure on both sides of the wound until she was sure the bleeding had stopped. She debated on using the powder which she assumed was what was in the jar, but decided against it since it might cause her to heal too quickly and as much as she wanted the infuriating wound to heal, she had to play the part of a weak human.

Now that the most pressing matters had been taken care of, Mayumi could take care of her growling stomach. Even though Kondo had brought them food last night, she let Chizuru eat her fill while she spun a story similar to what happened while leaving out other details. She never thought miso soup could taste so delicious and if her mother could see the way she was scarfing down the food, there would be no doubt she would be immediately be on the end of another lecture on being more ladylike while her father chuckled in the back.

"Otou-san...Okaa-san..." Mayumi slowly placed her chopsticks and empty bowl back onto the tray, solemnly bringing up memories from just a few days ago. What she wouldn't give to hear her mother's caring voice again, lecturing her or otherwise, or her father's warm laugh that could brighten up any cloudy mood. She could feel tears rolling down her face once more. This wasn't something she could just push to the back of her mind, this was her family. The all too fresh memory of her mother's last words to her rang clearly through her mind.

 _"Mayumi, you are the future of our lineage. You've helped raised both of them since they were born. I have no doubt you will help them grow up into fine adults, like you yourself have become."_

Responsibility and praise. Their mother had entrusted the future of her younger siblings to her and she had already failed. In all the commotion and panic, her younger brother had been separated from them as they fled the village and she was in no condition to be going out to look for him now. All she could do was pray he was safe and take care of Chizuru as best she could.

"Nee-san!" Speak of the devil. She quickly wiped away the tears before a very excited Chizuru slid open the sliding door, revealing the little girl and Kondo, who she assumed escorted her back after her little adventure. The girl crashed into the older woman, oblivious to the depressing mood in the room, but Kondo could clearly tell something was wrong. He was no stranger to this situation. He had dealt with it before with Souji, but this was different. They cared and that made things all the more worse.

"Nee-san, I want to join the dojo to get strong like you!" Chizuru was so happy. She was growing up so quickly and after she joined the dojo she could be just like Nee-san. Mayumi was happy for her, she truly was, but the smile in her face was strained and everything cut too deeply for her to truly be happy.

"Nee-san, when are otou-san and okaa-san coming to get us? I want to tell them too!" Mayumi visabally stiffened at the girl's seemingly innocent question. She didn't even have to turn to see that Chizuru's eyes wide and full of excitement, just waiting to share her new found goal with their parents. It seemed that Chizuru still hadn't made the connection that the pain in her heart wasn't from losing the village, but rather from losing their family. Parents and their children share a strong bond since birth and if anything were to happen, either side would be able to feel that.

That's what Mayumi was dealing with.

Everything hurt. It felt like her whole life was now an empty shell. She wanted to give up and join them, but there was one thing keeping her from throwing everything away. She needed to live for her sister and keep her promise to her mother.

"Chizuru…that night- when we had to run away..." She could feel the tears welling up again and was starting to choke up, cutting herself off mid-sentence. It hurt to say it out loud and actually admit it, but it hurt even more knowing she would have to shatter the illusion Chizuru had of their parents still being alive.

"Nee-san, what's wrong? Otou-san and okaa-san got away, didn't they? They're looking for us right now right?" Chizuru's happy expression slowly fell and she clung to Mayumi, burying her face into her kimono like she had always done when she was scared or confused. She didn't understand why Nee-san was saying any of this, but deep down her inner oni already knew the truth. There was an emptiness in her little heart that wasn't there before and no matter how she attempted to distract herself from it, her heart still ached. Chizuru felt arms wrap around her to try and comfort her, but she just felt numb.

"...otou-san and okaa-san stayed behind so-" Mayumi couldn't even finish the sentence. It hurt too much and she knew it would hurt Chizuru, but there was no way of softening to pain. She had to say it.

"-so we could get away. They're gone..." Chizuru didn't want to look at her sister. If she looked that would mean she would see her downcast eyes and solemn expression. She knew Nee-san would never lie to her, but she just wanted to hold on to the belief that their parents were still out there frantically looking for them.

"No! You're lying! They're coming to get us! Just you wait! They'll come and we'll be a family again!" The distraught girl struggled out of the embrace and shoved herself away from her sister, just barely avoiding bumping into Kondo in her distress and missing the heartbroken expression on Mayumi's face. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Chizuru's world slowly began to crack as memories of her family flooded her mind. Fleeting images of flower crowns in a field, sakura petals falling, and their family smiling; all shattering before her eyes. She could never go back to that time ever again.

"Chizuru…they couldn't have. There was too much fire..." Mayumi tried to reach out for her sister again, but there was no use trying to talk to the girl. Nothing would be able to get through to her.

"Then why didn't you save them too?!" Chizuru's words hit her like a slap in the face. She was right. She could have saved her parents, but she had promised. Promised to not look back and to take care of her siblings.

And oni never go back on their promises.

"I promised okaa-san I would get you out of there-" Mayumi wanted to explain everything to her. Tell her everything okaa-san had told her and the decision she forced her to make, but Chizuru was already too far distraught to listen to reason.

" _SHUT UP!_ Why couldn't you have taken them with us?!"

Her heart was breaking. Was this, in the end, truly her fault?

"Chizuru, I-"

" _YOU_ KILLED THEM! I HATE YOU!" Chizuru barreled out of the room ignoring her sister and Kondo's cry for her; tears blinding her vision as she ran.

Chizuru ran and ran, her tears blurring her vision, until she arrived in front of a familiar room. Her instincts had led her here on a whim, but with everything that was happening this was the only place where she felt safe. She knew Souji was still in class, but she snuck into his room anyway and hid away in the darkest corner of the room, letting her sobs and tears fall freely. She didn't want to believe it. She wanted to go home and back to how it always had been.

A happy family.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Tune in next week hopefully for the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 4 - Family

**Author's Notes:**  
Things are happening!  
-Zee

* * *

"Chizuru, wait!" Mayumi cried out and tried to follow after the distraught girl, but collapsed before she could get one foot out the door. Kondo had barely caught the young woman as she fell and carefully maneuvered her back onto the the futon where she could rest. He never expected Chizuru to react this badly, but considering that she was even younger that Souji and cared deeply for her parents, he shouldn't have expected anything less.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Chizuru. I should have tried harder to convince them not to stay behind. Please forgive me, Chizuru. I didn't mean for all this to happen." Kondo could only watch as the woman broke down in front of him. Just yesterday she was a fierce warrior, ready to cut down anyone in her way, but now he saw a grieving child. The only solace he could provide was by rubbing comforting circles on her back while staying silent. There was so much he wanted to say, but there was still so much he didn't know about this broken family. If Kondo was to say something, he would have to choose his next words very carefully. He couldn't dismiss Chizuru's anger and focus on Mayumi's grief alone, but he knew siding with the girl would only make things worse. There was only one thing he could do - listen to both sides of the story. With everything that had happened, neither noticed the small figure outside the room listening in on their conversation.

"Yukimura, will you tell me what happened that night your village was attacked?" Mayumi could barely hear anything over the sound of her sobs, but the soothing motion on her back slowly and surely calmed her down. Their father had always done the same thing whenever she was frustrated, but this was different. It would never feel the same ever again. However, the motions were enough to rouse those feelings from back then. Mayumi forced herself to take in a few deep breaths and rub away the tears, but she didn't trust her voice to be steady. Kondo said nothing and continued his gentle ministrations until Mayumi's quiet voice broke the silence.

"That night...people set fire to our village. It was late, so many were already fast asleep and had no chance of escaping. I was lucky. I was still awake and woke my sleeping siblings, but by then the entire village had been nearly engulfed by the flames. Our parents stayed behind to...to try and rescue any others, but I know they never made it out that night. However, there was one thing our mother made me promise before they made us leave. She made me promise to not look back and to take care of my siblings. That's why Chizuru hates me. Because I promised..." Mayumi looked down at the floor, her expression downcast, but it felt somewhat relieving to tell someone about what happened. Even if it wasn't the whole truth.

"You wanted to honor your mother's last wishes." Realization dawned on Kondo when he pieced everything together. Mayumi didn't want to leave their parents behind either, but she was forced to choose between accepting what they had decided or go against their mother's wished and risk her life as well. He couldn't blame the woman. It must have been a difficult decision.

"Yes... Perhaps one day I'll be able to explain to Chizuru why I did what I did."

* * *

Chizuru had stayed curled up in the dark corner even after no more tears would come. Her chest hurt from the weight of the pain of loss. She wanted to go home. Not even the sight of the door sliding open and flooding the once dark room with a soft orange glow of the sunset gained any reaction from the girl. Not even when Souji sat next to her in silence.

If what he heard last night was true, he knew how Chizuru was feeling. He went through the same thing himself a few years ago and it was no different than what she was doing; hiding away from the truth. He hadn't wanted to believe his parents had died and shut his own sister out. He had allowed the pain to fester inside of him which was why he had acted the way he had when he first joined the dojo. It wasn't until that day when he beat the older student and had a heart to heart with Kondo afterwards did he finally let go of the pain he had latched onto. But by then it was too late to apologize to his sister for pushing her away when he really needed her the most.

He had suffered in silence, but that didn't mean Chizuru had to as well. Like him, she had a loving sister who wanted to help and he wasn't about to let her end up like he had. Even looking back on those memories made him sad, but actually seeing exactly what he was doing made him feel even worse. The kid might have been a pain, but he wasn't going to let her go through what he did, not if he had any say in it.

"Hey."

Chizuru felt a light pressure on her cheek where the other boy poked her, but she didn't react or say anything.

"You don't have to say anything, but I want to tell you what Kondo-san told me." Souji hugged his knees to his chest, mirroring Chizuru's current position and spoke in a voice much quieter than usual.

"He told me that there were things you can't change in life and you should live happy instead of sad all the time. I don't think your parents would want you to be sad forever even though they're gone. Sad for a little bit, but not all the time."

"Everyone's gone." The happy look from this morning was gone, now replaced with a grim and downcast expression. A face only someone who had given up everything would make and it seemed Chizuru had in fact given up.

"You still have your onee-san, right? Isn't she your family too?"

"I hate her. She killed Otou-san and Okaa-san."

Souji was shocked. What Chizuru was saying didn't make any sense. He had seen the older woman earlier that afternoon and she had said what she did was to honor their mother's wishes. It didn't add up, but he was sure Mayumi wasn't lying. He had caught his own sister in the same situation many times before, hiding away from him to release her pent up grief so he wouldn't think any less of her as his guardian.

"Are you sure she could have saved them too?"

"Of course she could have! She's nee-san! She can do anything!"

There it was. That was why Chizuru was so upset. She thought her sister could do anything, but she was only human like everyone else.

"Chizuru-"

Souji was about to say something when Chizuru's stomach interrupted him and growled loudly in the quiet room, making her look away, ashamed. She had been hiding in Souji's room for so long she had missed lunch, and after eating only a meager rice ball this morning she was starving.

"Stay here, I'll go get us dinner." Souji didn't expect a response from her and quietly left his room to get food for them both.

While he was gone, Chizuru mulled over what the older boy had said. She really missed her parents and she wanted to believe they were still out there looking for them, but she knew her sister would never lie to her. Chizuru had pushed her away and now she was completely and utterly alone.

No otou-san. No okaa-san. No nee-san.

Nobody.

* * *

Souji had managed to find Kondo to help him carry another tray of food to his room when he told him that Chizuru had hiding out there. He had intended to have his teacher talk to the girl like they had done so many months ago. If he could convince him to think otherwise, Souji was sure he could help Chizuru. When he slid open the door she was still huddled up in the corner of the room, looking as miserable as when he first left her. Kondo looked at the girl, his expression solemn. She looked even worse than how Souji did when he first arrived, but he would try his best to cheer her up.

"Chizuru-chan. We brought you something to eat." Kondo's cheery voice filled the room, but Chizuru just looked up with expressionless eyes when they walked in. The man's smile faltered slightly when he caught Souji looking up at him sadly. The boy told him about what he had discovered, about what the girl thought had happened and why she blamed her sister for their parents' deaths. There was no doubt the girl saw her sister as an amazing person, but to expect her to be able to do anything was too much.

"Thank you for the food..." They could barely hear her voice even as they set down the trays of food. Everything had really shaken her up and Kondo couldn't blame her. The girl had lost her whole family and the person she admired was now the worst person ever. Her whole world had been completely flipped on its head. The entire meal had been eerily quiet. Neither Souji nor Kondo knew what to say while the girl ate her food in silence and that's how it stayed until her hands began to shake.

Chizuru missed her family. Dinner wasn't the same without them. Everything felt so cold and empty without the usual laughter and banter, even the food was tasteless. She wanted to go home.

"Chizuru-chan? Are you feeling alright?"

"I want to go home."

"Kondo-san, should I get Yukimura-san?" Souji tried to keep his voice down as best he could, but Chizuru still caught his murmerd words.

"I don't want nee-san! She left Otou-san and Okaa-san! She killed them!" The room fell silent after Chizuru's outburst. Neither wanted to say anything that would cause the girl to be even more outraged. Kondo had to once again choose his words carefully before he spoke, but this time he was speaking to a child. It would be much more difficult to have her understand what he was trying to convey.

"Chizuru-chan, I don't think she wanted to leave them behind either."

"She could have saved them too! I know she could have!"

"Is that what your otou-san and okaa-san wanted? She told me it was your okaa-san's wish that you should live." A long silence followed after that. Kondo felt guilty. He knew by saying that, he would force the poor girl to relive that horrible nightmare and remember, but this was the only way he could think of to get the girl to see the truth.

"Okaa-san told Nee-san to take care of us..." Slowly, bits and pieces of that night came back to her and Chizuru remembered their mother's smile. She had been smiling even though the house around them was on fire. She had been smiling with otou-san as they ran away. Her last memory of them was their smile.

 _"...Chizuru-chan. Promise me you'll be good for your onee-san, okay? She'll be taking care of you from now on. Be good for Otou-san and Okaa-san, promise?"  
_  
"Okaa-san..." Her chest began to feel tight as another memory rose to the surface. It was a fuzzy memory, but it made Chizuru recognize something important.

 _"Okaa-san, I can't just leave you and Otou-san, and raise them on my own!"_

 _"Mayumi, you are the future of our lineage. You've helped raised both of them since they were born. I have no doubt you will help them grow up into fine adults, like you yourself have become."_

 _"Okaa-san! I-"_

Chizuru didn't understand what they had been talking about then, but now she realized that Nee-san had wanted otou-san and okaa-san to come with them as well. She had tried to convince them that night, but in the end they stayed in the village.

"Nee-san..." The tightening in her chest only hurt more as the tears began to fall again. She had wanted to save them, but they wouldn't let her. They made her run away. Nee-san was scared too and Chizuru had blamed her for killing their parents. Nee-san probably missed them just as much as she did.

In truth, Chizuru didn't hate her. She was still her amazing Nee-san and nothing could change that, but everything had happened so quickly. She didn't mean to say all that. When Mayumi had told her truth, she knew deep down it was true. Chizuru had felt those bonds burn that night, and a broken bond would always stay broken no matter what. She didn't want that last bond she had of her family to disappear as well.

Chizuru had the same fear that horrible morning when Mayumi had collapsed in front of the dojo. She had never been more terrified in her life. The terrified girl had felt their bond beginning to fray and she couldn't do anything to stop it. Now, more than ever, she desperately needed her Nee-san. After seeing her almost die in the forest, Chizuru didn't want her to leave like them too!

"Nee-san!" Chizuru bolted from the room, nearly knocking over her tray of food, and ran blindly down the foreign hallways. She was most definitely lost, but okaa-san had taught her how to always be able to find someone.

 _"Don't forget, Chizuru. You can always find someone if you remember their scent. If you remember then just follow it until you find them."  
_  
It was hard for her to concentrate with blurred vision and rush of overwhelming emotions, but the girl eventually found her way back to a familiar looking area.

Mayumi had left the door open so she could look out at the garden while still resting on her futon. It certainly was lovely, but it paled in comparison to the beauty of her former village. If only she could have saved it. Guilt welled up inside her as she ran through all the possible outcomes, but none led to her village being unscathed. Each alternative had the same thing in common - she would always reject the humans, no matter what.

Then it truly was her fault that all of this came to pass.

"Nee-san!"

"Chizuru?" Mayumi barely had time to react when the blurred figure of her younger sister barreled into her good side and sobbed her little heart out while clinging onto her kimono.

"Nee-san, I'm sorry! I don't hate you! Please don't leave me too!" Mayumi was taken aback.

"Leave you? Why do you think I would leave you, Chizuru?" She gathered the tiny shaking figure into her arms and gently stroked the girl's hair. This was such a huge difference from Chizuru's attitude this afternoon, but Mayumi couldn't dwell on that at the moment. Her little sister needed her.

"B-because you're hurt! I don't want you to go away like otou-san and okaa-san did! I don't want to be alone!" Mayumi's hand stopped mid-stroke when Chizuru blurted out what she was so scared of. She had been so focused on her own problems, she nearly forgot about the promise she made to their mother.

"I'm not going anywhere." Chizuru felt the arms around her tighten as Mayumi leaned down and buried her face into her shoulder. For the first time all day, she felt safe. It felt like home again. "I would never leave you, Chizuru. I'll stay with you always. I promise." Her words carried the same care as okaa-san's and her hug felt like otou-san's, but when Chizuru looked up with teary eyes she only saw nee-san's love through and through. And that was all she needed.

"I love you, Nee-san."

"I love you too, Chizuru."

As Chizuru settled into the embrace, she realized just how tired she was. Her sister's comforting scent surrounded her in a blanket of security and she slowly drifted off to sleep to the familiar sensation of being held.

She was safe and happy with her family.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Tune in next week hopefully for the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 5 - Challenge

**Author's Note:**  
Time for some badassery from a certain older sister!

\- Zee

* * *

Mayumi had woken up early and had been awake for a while, playing with a stray lock of Chizuru's hair while the little girl slept soundly. Golden sunlight streamed through the sliding door, creating a calming morning glow inside the small room. It was just like how most of her mornings usually went with the comforting silence before the start of a new day. Or, at least it should have been. She had a feeling this would happen sooner or later, but she didn't expect them to be so noisy this early in the morning!

It was painfully obvious what the multitude of tiny whispering shadows crowding by their door were trying to do. She didn't recognize any of the voices at first since there were too many people pushing and shoving, however, there was one who suddenly rose to a whisper yell.

"Shut up! What if they're still sleeping?" Ah, it was Souji. He was such a good boy. She would have to thank him again later when Chizuru woke up, but for now she would play along and send the boys on their way.

"Hey, if you're trying to sneak, you might want to be a bit quieter. Some people are still resting." The students' reactions were immediate and many stumbled trying to get away from the room as quickly as possible. It was almost too funny for Mayumi not to burst out laughing and bit her lip to stifle the giggles that would otherwise disturb her still sleeping sister. By the time she got over her little laughing fit most, if not all the students, had scampered off, but there was still one silhouette still there.

"Souji-kun? Is that you?" She carefully pushed herself up and slowly slid the door open a crack as to not let in too much light. The clearly fidgeting boy quickly knelt down and looked at the floor to hide his embarrassment of being caught.

"Good morning, Yukimura-san." The door had been opened wide enough for the boy to see the woman smiling softly back at him. Her still messy hair fell in front of her face as she covered her mouth while yawning and he couldn't help but be reminded of the sight of his own sister in the morning.

"Good morning, Souji-kun. I wanted to thank you for talking to Chizuru yesterday." He noticed her reaching down to lovingly smooth Chizuru's ruffled hair as the girl slept soundly. He remembered when his sister used to do that while he slept and wished he could feel her fingers running through his hair again.

"I just told her what Kondo-san told me, that's all," he admitted, nervously playing with the hem of his sleeve. This wasn't time to dwell on what his life was like before. He had to eat breakfast then go to morning classes, but he couldn't stop his thoughts from wandering - wondering what it would feel like if he was in Chizuru's place. To have someone care for him that dearly again. Would it feel the same?

"Still, thank you. This is the second time you've helped us, so if there's anything you ever need, I'll do my best to help." The boy was quiet for a moment, mulling over a thought that had been lingering in his mind for the past few days, but in the end, he just bowed in respect and left to chase after the other students.

Mayumi silently slid the door closed and maneuvered herself back into a position where she could cradle Chizuru against her chest, careful not to move around too much and wake the sleeping child. Her heart swelled when the girl shifted closer, making a soft noise of contentment when she gently pressed a kiss on her forehead. This was how her mornings usually went and she would cherish every single one.

* * *

The rest of the morning passed quietly with only Kondo dropping by to give them breakfast and a fresh roll of bandages before returning to teaching his classes. It was strange. Normally, there would always be someone talking to her at this time, but it was quiet. Honestly, it unnerved Mayumi a little bit. She had gotten so used to her daily chores in the village that silence at the wrong time of day made her slightly anxious. However, there wasn't much she could do to fill the silence since Chizuru was still fast asleep.

Thankfully, there was one thing she could do that would help ease her nerves. Ever since Mayumi was young, having her hair played with or playing with her parents' hair always seemed to bring her this odd sense of calm and joy. So just running her fingers through the young girl's dark locks was plenty enough to take her mind off of everything that had happened.

She must have been playing with her hair a little too long since it seemed those small motions were enough to rouse the slumbering girl and she stretched lazily while making an attempt to burrow underneath the blanket. An amused smile appeared on Mayumi's face at Chizuru's typical morning antics. At least some things would be able to stay the same.

"Chizuru, it's time to get up," Mayumi murmured while lifting the blanket away, revealing the curled up ball that was her little sister. The sudden brightness caused the girl to groan and flip onto her stomach to get away from the light which only furthered Mayumi's amusement. Some things really would never change.

"I don't wanna…" Honestly, that was no surprise there. Very few people, herself included, didn't enjoy having to wake up early, but they had to since life wouldn't wait for those who didn't make use of every moment. However, there was always one thing that never failed to get Chizuru to properly wake up.

"Kondo-san brought breakfast. I'm sure you don't want it to get too cold." Just the mere mention of food had the girl perking up and looking at her with now clear and expectant eyes. Chizuru was pretty much like this every morning and most likely couldn't be coaxed awake until someone mentioned food. It was cute really, but Mayumi didn't expect to be able to do that for much longer. This wasn't home. They were being allowed to stay here out of the goodness of someone's heart. She couldn't afford to to spoil her sister anymore especially if Chizuru really did want to join the dojo as a student. "Alright, alright. Let's eat."

Mayumi split the food on the tray before the two of them gave thanks and began eating. Chizuru happily dug into her bowls of miso soup and and rice like she always did while the raven haired woman stared at her, a bit lost in thought. This was the first time in the past couple of days that she could properly think about the situation at hand. They had lost their whole family and village. She could, of course, make an attempt to travel to another oni village, but she doubted Chizuru would want to leave. In the span of a few days, the girl had managed to befriend at least two people and made up her mind about becoming a student.

If she did decide to go to another village, Mayumi could imagine the situation going one of a few ways: Chizuru would come with her, but be sad she had to leave and that was the last thing Mayumi ever wanted for her sister. Or Chizuru wouldn't want to come and if she forced her, the girl would most likely try to get back on her own and end up getting lost. Neither of those potential options were particularly appealing and the last thing she needed was was losing her sister as well.

That left Mayumi with her last option - stay and hide amongst the humans. Chizuru could train and join the dojo like she wanted and they would hopefully have a place to live. This option depended on whether or not Kondo would allow them to stay.

"Nee-san?" A small voice broke Mayumi out of her thoughts and the woman noticed Chizuru looking worriedly back at her. "Does it still hurt?"

"No, not right now. It probably healed a little more last night." She placed her hand over the wound and only felt a light burning sensation rather than the painful stabbing from yesterday. However, the girl didn't seem to be relieved - she looked sad.

"I wish I could help you like Okaa-san…"

"You are, Chizuru," Mayumi reassured as she gently stroked Chizuru's hair. The girl had always wanted to grow up so quickly and make use of her fully developed powers, but now more than ever, Mayumi wanted her to stay a carefree child for as long as possible. They had their family robbed from them much too soon and she would be damned if Chizuru was forced to grow up sooner than was necessary. "By staying with me, you're already helping me heal faster."

"Really?" Chizuru beamed when her sister nodded in response. She knew she was still young, but knowing she was able to help her sister was more than enough for her. All she wanted was to be useful, especially to her sister.

"Let's finish eating, okay? Neither of us will be useful if we're still hungry." Her mind now clear of previous thoughts, Mayumi finally started eating with Chizuru, however, she knew it was only a matter of time until those thoughts came back and stay on her mind until she did something to resolve them.

"Nee-san? After we finish eating can we go watch the students practice?" Chizuru mumbled through a mouthful of rice. Mayumi raised an eyebrow at her sister's manners, or lack of, but decided to let it go this time.

"The students? Oh, you mean Souji-kun and the others." She took a moment to drink some of her miso soup while contemplating Chizuru's request. There wasn't any reason for them to go, but there wasn't any reason for them to not go. However, the girl seemed oddly enthusiastic about learning how to fight recently. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to take a look at the dojo for herself either. "As long as we don't disrupt Kondo-san's class, okay?"

"Okay!" Mayumi smiled at Chizuru's enthusiasm and waited for the girl to start eating before she returned to her own tray of food. It didn't taste anything like the food from home, but it still had a certain charm that made it taste just as delicious.

They finished the rest of their food in relative silence and Chizuru helped her sister replace the old bandages after. It was an ugly red wound and the girl was too scared to do anything besides hand her the bandages in case she accidentally made it worse.

"Are you worried about me, Chizuru? Don't worry. It has healed quite a bit since we came here." It looked like it hurt a lot, but it just looked worse than it felt. At the current rate, the wound would be fully healed within a couple more days just as long as she didn't reopen it. "Let's get dressed so you can show me where the training hall is."

Mayumi helped Chizuru into the dojo's uniform Kondo had left with them before putting one on herself. The material was light - perfect clothing to spar and train in. Seeing her sister in the uniform made her look even more like she was a student. There was just one thing to complete the look. Mayumi grabbed a spare piece of bandage and tied Chizuru's hair up into a ponytail.

"There. Now you look more like a student." Chizuru bounced in place excitedly before taking her sister's hand and leading her in the direction of the sparring hall. It only took a few wrong turns, but before long they could hear the sounds of bokken clashing.

"Nee-san, come look!" Chizuru exclaimed, letting go and running ahead to peek into the open doors. "Souji-kun is so cool!"

"Yes, he is quite talented for his age." The woman looked in as well, quickly finding the boy and was quite surprised how skilled the young boy was for his age and stature. Their presence, however, didn't go unnoticed. A few of the younger students stopped sparring and stared at the new people, catching Kondo's attention.

"Yukimura?" The young teacher hurried over to the door to greet the two newcomers which caused all the students to drop what they were doing and nonchalantly listen in. "Are you sure you should be up and walking around so soon?"

"I'm fine, Kondo-san. Chizuru wanted me to come watch one of your classes and I must admit, if someone as young as you is already a teacher, then your students must be quite talented as well."

It was quite a surprise to the class when they saw their instructor speaking to a woman, but many paid it no mind and went back to their own business. However, it didn't sit well with a few of the older students - especially one certain older student.

"Why are they here? Girls shouldn't be at a dojo." Souji seethed when he heard one of the older students, the same student that had bullied him when he first came to the dojo, mutter about the two people Kondo-san had graciously taken in. In such a short amount of time, he had somehow gotten quite attached to them both and was ready to defend them.

"What did you say?!" His sudden outburst caused the whole hall to go quiet and everyone just watched as the two most notorious students seemed to start up another fight.

"I said 'Girls shouldn't be at a dojo! They don't belong here!'"

"Shut up!" Souji exclaimed, ready to start a fight with the older boy - the same boy that had so mercilessly beat him when he first started. He had made sure the bully paid dearly during their dojo's internal competition and no one dared to hurt him afterwards, but this was different. He didn't want the other students to hurt them!

"Why should I, Okita? I'm right!" He sneered at him when he had no retort and took that as a sign to continue taunting the younger boy. "Just because you're a runty genius doesn't mean girls are the same. They're always going to be weak!"

"Why you-"

"Souji-kun, it's quite alright. I'd like to hear his reasoning." A gentle, yet stern voice stopped him before he could do anything and he stared at the woman who had made her way in front of them in shock. He didn't understand! How could she be so calm while someone blatantly insulted her and her sister?

"Girls like you are too weak to fight. Fighting is only for strong people and men are stronger than girls!"

"Is that so? Then you should have no qualms showing me, a weak, frail little girl, how strong you've gotten at the dojo, right?" All the students started murmuring at the woman's declaration. Not many of them really believed what the older student said about girls being weak. They all had mothers and sisters that they looked up to and respected.

"Are you challenging the dojo?"

"No, just you," Mayumi stated bluntly. Chizuru looked at her sister worriedly, but she didn't see a flicker of hesitation in her eyes. "Will this cause any problems, Kondo-san?"

"No, I don't believe so. The older students won't have classes until a little later, but are you sure? Your wound hasn't fully closed yet."

"It's better this way. " Mayumi casually lifted one of the practice swords from the rack and tested the weight of the weapon in her hand a few times before walking back. It certainly was a bit heavier than what she was normally used to, but it would do nicely. "Shall we?"

"Nee-san, are you going to be okay?" Chizuru nervously asked as she ran over to tug on her sister's hakama. Mayumi knelt down to the girl's level and smiled reassuringly to calm her worries, taking Chizuru's smaller hands in her own.

"Don't worry Chizuru, I'll be fine. Go stand with Kondo-san, alright?" After a gentle pat on the head, Chizuru quickly hugged her sister before hurrying over to where Kondo stood at the front of the room.

Mayumi could tell the boy was all too eager to show off when he all but swaggered to the center of the room after her invitation. The others moved off to the sides of the room so they had the whole floor to spar and Mayumi she waited patiently for her opponent to ready himself. However, she saw no reason to ready her weapon when he took on a sloppy stance. Was he seriously underestimating her? Well, she'd make him regret that decision, just not before breaking him down first.

"Start!"

The boy took no time to raise his bokken against her the moment Kondo initiated the fight, but it was all too easy for her to move out of the way and watch as his mind struggled to catch up that he had missed.

"Your stance is a little too narrow. Someone would be able to easily knock you off balance, like so." Mayumi again easily side stepped the boy's blatantly telegraphed slice and shoved him with the flat of her bokken, making him stumble and curse as he tried to recover. It was honestly quite amusing watching the boy getting angrier and angrier every time he failed to land a blow or when she batted his strike away. She hadn't even lifted her sword against the boy, but his pride had already been terribly wounded. "I thought you said men were strong. How come you haven't beaten a weak little girl yet?"

"Stop running away and fight me!" This was exactly what she was waiting for. All that was on his mind was beating her so he could prove a point, which meant he was wide open for an attack. She saw the fear dawn across his face as she finally readied herself to take the offensive - a solid stance with one arm bent in front of her and her sword lying on the back of her hand, pointed straight at the boy. Gone was the soft-spoken woman from before and in her place stood a deadly warrior. It was time to stop playing.

The boy barely had time to react much less swing his sword when she darted forward and had the edge of her bokken dangerously close to his neck before he even realized what had happened.

"I can tell you've learned a lot from Kondo-san. I hope you realized what you need to work on to become stronger." Mayumi slowly moved the wooden sword away, her stern demeanor melting away to the kind expression from before. Her attack may have been a bit excessive however, she wanted to drive home a point, not only to the boy, but to all the students watching. _I am proof that women can be just as strong as men._

Perhaps she wanted to drive that point home a bit too strongly since as she made her way back to return the borrowed practice sword, a stabbing pain bloomed from her wound and she clutched at her side as it died down to a dull but continuous throbbing.

"Nee-san!" Chizuru's reaction to her wince was immediate and she sprinted over, clutching at her sister's hakama as worry shined in her wide eyes. Mayumi gave her a pained smile in an attempt to reassure the girl, but it did nothing to quell the little girl's concern.

"I'm fine Chizuru, but it's probably best if I go back and rest." The woman obediently followed after Chizuru as she tugged on her hand to lead them out of the sparring hall. She had no doubt reopened her gunshot wound when she felt the fabric around her palm grow damp with blood and she wasn't the only one who seemed to notice that as well.

"Yukimura!" Kondo exclaimed while rushing over, taking the bokken out of her hand so she could properly put pressure on her wound. He quickly put the practice sword back before carefully supporting the injured woman while she walked out. "Everyone stay here, I'll be right back to finish up today's class!"

"Kondo-san, you really don't have to. We'll be fine on our own."

"But-" he protested then paused. He really didn't want to leave the two on their own, but as a teacher, he also couldn't leave the students on their own. Luckily, he just so happened to notice an older student that he trusted to be passing by and quickly called out to get his attention. "Oh, Gen-san! Could you take these two back to their room for me?"

"Of course, Kondo-san." He hurried over to take Kondo's place and was shocked when he noticed red beginning to bleed through the dojo's usually white uniform. How did one of the younger students manage to cause such a serious injury with just a bokken?

"Please take it easy for now. I'll come by later to bring you both something to eat." He waited for the three to walk out of sight before returning to the sparring hall. His personal concerns would have to wait until class had finished.

* * *

 **Notes** : Thanks for reading! Tune in 2-3 weeks for the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 6 - Second Chances

**Author's Note:**  
I just want to thank everyone who has been reading this series! I've been watching the stats and I'm so grateful to all of you! anyways, here's the chapter!

\- Zee

* * *

Chizuru was really worried when her sister accidentally reopened her wound back in the hall; right now, her only thought was to get them back to their room as fast as she could.

"Chizuru," the older woman spoke up, making the girl pause. "A little slower, okay?"

She timidly slowed her pace, but the grip she had on her sister's hand only tightened. Chizuru was scared that night would happen again if they didn't hurry back. The memory of her sister lying on the ground motionless terrified her. She had almost lost everything she loved, so nothing was going to stand in her way from keeping the last thing she had safe. She was so focused on getting her sister back that she almost missed the quiet conversation happening behind her.

"How did this happen? I've never heard of anyone getting this injured before." the student inquired, his worry getting the better of him. Even the older students never had injuries this bad. Perhaps a few scrapes and bruises when things got a bit too heated, but never something so bad as to have blood actually seeping through the uniform. "Ah, excuse me. I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Inoue Genzaburo."

"Yukimura Mayumi and the little one tugging us along is my sister, Yukimura Chizuru."

"I haven't seen either of you around before. Are you new students?"

"No, Kondo-san was kind enough to take us in when he found us injured outside the dojo. That's where this injury came from," Mayumi clarified, explaining their current situation. She would have to thank the young instructor again the next time they saw him. "I have every intention of repaying him for his kindness."

"He most likely won't let you. That's just the kind of man he is." Inoue chuckled quietly to himself as his own memories with the man surfaced. He knew Kondo would never take anything as payment from doing something that any decent person would do. "Seeing you recover to your full health would be thanks enough for him."

"I see." This was certainly a first. Mayumi had met many humans as a child when she snuck away from the village, but even as an adult, a person like Kondo was a rare person indeed. There weren't many people left in Japan that could claim to be so selfless, and it was him who had saved her life and taken them in. Now she really had to find a suitable way to thank him. They continued the rest of their journey in silence, pausing every so often to let Mayumi rest, until they were greeted by a familiar garden. "Thank you for escorting us back to our room, Inoue-san."

"Think nothing of it." Inoue knelt down to Chizuru's height and gave her a warm smile along with a gentle pat on the head. "Yukimura-kun, make sure your onee-san changes her bandages and gets some rest, okay?"

"I'm counting on you Chizuru," Mayumi smiled, playing along with what Inoue was saying. The little girl beamed at the two adults before tugging on her sister's hand again, now even more intent on helping her sister after she had been given the responsibility of taking care of her.

"I wish you a speedy recovery, Yukimura." The student walked off, looking back a moment to wave at Chizuru, then turned the corner, leaving the two sisters to themselves.

"Nee-san, come on." Mayumi allowed herself to be tugged into their room and she carefully sat down on the futon Chizuru had hastily laid out. The injury was still quite painful, but after opening up the white kimono to reveal the bloody bandages, it seemed that the bleeding had already stopped.

"It looks like I've regained most of my strength, but I'm still too weak to properly heal this." She had lost a lot of blood that night and getting hit by a silver bullet wasn't helping her healing abilities in the slightest. It was strange being injured for so long, but for the sake of appearing human, Mayumi had to endure the pain and keep the act up until it 'properly healed'.

"You can't do what you usually do, Nee-san?" Chizuru had always been able to heal little scrapes and wounds when she got a little too rambunctious while playing, so she didn't understand why someone as strong as her sister couldn't heal herself.

"No, I would probably end up sleeping for another two days if I did that. I can't be that selfish. I promised I would take care of you," Mayumi explained, patting the little girl on the head. She slowly removed the kimono so it would stay wrapped around her waist, and began unwrapping the bloody dressing. "Here, help me with this?"

"Nee-san, are you sure you're going to be okay?" Chizuru shuffled behind her sister and helped pass the soiled wrappings forward every time she reached behind. Once it had been completely removed, Chizuru averted her eyes from the ugly, blood smeared injury and handed her sister the clean roll of bandages that had been lying on the floor.

"I'll be fine as long as I don't overdo it like I did today." Mayumi started rewrapping her torso and passed the roll of bandages behind her, but she turned to see Chizuru in a daze when she didn't feel a response. "What's wrong, Chizuru? Is something on your mind?"

"I think I want to join the dojo."

"I was wondering when you were going to bring this up," she murmured, slipping the bloodied kimono back on. Mayumi wasn't at all surprised that this had been lingering on Chizuru's mind. The girl had always been there watching while she trained and tried to mimic the moves she performed, albeit much more adorable than threatening. "Can I ask you why?"

"I know you're strong, and when the humans came, you protected us. But I couldn't do anything. I want to get stronger so I can protect us, but," she paused, looking down dejectedly. "I never believed I could be as good as you. Then when I saw Souji-kun fight the other day-"

"-you realized you could it too, right?" Chizuru nodded hesitantly as she kept her gaze fixed on the floor, her hands balled into fists on her lap. She knew it was a silly idea, considering just how amazing Souji was when she saw him sparring the other day, but she still wanted to try, even if it meant failing in the end. But to her surprise, she felt herself being lifted into her sister's arms and Chizuru laid her head against her chest, staying quiet to listen to her sister's soft words. "Oh, Chizuru. You want to grow up so quickly. You're still so young, you can't compare the two of us. That's not fair to yourself."

"But Nee-san's always been so strong..."

"Well, do you know how long I've been training to get this strong?" she asked, causing the girl ponder for a moment before shaking her head. "Longer than you've been alive. I started out like you too so, if you're patient and you work hard, I believe you can be as strong as me one day."

"You really think so?" Chizuru looked up at her sister with expectant eyes and seeing her nod sent her heart soaring. "Does that mean I can be a student?"

"Yes, you have my permission to be a student at the dojo. But, you know, I'm kinda sad you didn't ask me to train you." There was a twinkle of mischief in Mayumi's eyes and Chizuru immediately realized her mistake, but it was too late for her to do anything to stop her sister's dramatics. "I've been forgotten by my little sister!"

"Nee-san, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Chizuru, you wound me!" Mayumi exclaimed, dramatically falling onto the futon.

"Nee-san! Stop being so mean! I want you to train me too!" the girl cried, flailing as Mayumi dragged her down too. Chizuru could tell her sister was toying with her like always and she pouted as the older woman had her fun.

"Sorry, I was just teasing." Mayumi twirled a lock of Chizuru's hair and pushed both of them up off the ground into a sitting position. With a tired sigh, her playful demeanor from just a few moments ago had completely vanished, and she looked at Chizuru with a more serious expression."You're going to have to wait a few more days to start though."

"How come?" Chizuru questioned, tilting her head.

"I need to be fully healed in order to teach you properly, so give me a little while longer." She would have to talk to Kondo about accepting Chizuru as a live-in-student and convince him to allow her to stay at the dojo as well.

* * *

Back at the sparring hall, many of the students were still whispering about the woman that had challenged one of the older students and won while being injured no less. Souji felt an odd sense of pride welling up in his chest when he remembered the expression the boy had when the woman had closed the distance between them in an instant. He had felt a similar sensation when he too had defeated the same student a while back, but this was different. He wanted to be strong so he could fight the people that hurt him too, but those thoughts were put on hold when Kondo walked back into the room and turned the attention of the class back to him.

"Alright everyone, gather round." Kondo waited a moment for his students to quiet down and line up in front of him. "I hope that demonstration has shown you to never underestimate your enemies. Whether your opponent is a man or a woman, small or large, you should treat every battle as if your life depended on it."

None of the students had anything to say against what Kondo said since he was right. It was one of the main lessons of the dojo that they were reminded of every time before sparring, but that lesson never really stuck with some of the students until now. An injured woman had easily danced around one of the older students, and she had not only defeated him, but also pointed out many of his faults while doing so. Their fight made it very clear that she had much more experience than any of them despite being a woman.

"That'll be it for today. You're all dismissed," Kondo announced. The students all bowed and thanked their instructor before putting away their practice weapons, hurrying out with the anticipation of lunch. Souji was one of the last people to leave the hall. He was still trying out that stance he saw earlier, but he just couldn't seem to get it right. Kondo smiled, amused at his favorite student trying to mimic such a complex stance while he was still building on his intermediate skills.

"Souji," he called. The boy was startled by the sound of his name and quickly hid the bokken behind his back in embarrassment. He didn't want Kondo-san to realize what he was doing, but the smile on the instructor's face told him that he already knew. Souji averted his eyes then felt a hand ruffling his hair. "Do you mind helping me bring some food to Yukimura-san?"

"Okay," Souji agreed. He put away the bokken and followed after the older man, exiting the training hall and making their way to the kitchen. As he padded down the hall in the afternoon sun, a sudden thought crossed the boy's mind. He remembered seeing the white uniform getting stained red as Yukimura-san limped out.

"Should we bring her a clean kimono too?"

"Good idea, Souji," Kondo praised. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind until the boy brought it up, which made him curious. Souji never paid that much attention to anyone, so for the young boy to notice something that even he missed came a quite a shock. "The uniform we gave her probably got dirty. We'll go get another one when we pass the storehouse."

It didn't take long for them to reach the kitchen, and Kondo immediately prepared two trays of food for the Yukimuras, handing one of the wooden trays to Souji to hold. His stomach growled as he looked at the warm food. At this point after practice, any food was a welcome sight.

"Sorry. You're probably hungry after class aren't you?" Kondo apologized. "I'll leave some food aside for the two of us so we'll still have something after we bring this to them."

The young instructor prepared another two trays of food, setting them aside for later when they came back, then picked up the other tray he had finished earlier. Souji once again followed after the older man, making a short detour to the storagehouse, and focused on making sure not spill anything

"Here, let me take that." Kondo took Souji's tray and balanced it on his free hand. "You go in and find one that's a little bit smaller than mine."

Souji carefully slid the door open and rummaged among the piles of clean laundry, looking for something that would fit the older Yukimura. It took a little while since he had to drag a stool over and look up on the higher shelves for something larger than what he and most of the other students wore. He reached up blindly, stretching his arm up as high as he could until the tips of his fingers were able to touch the topmost uniform. Carefully shifting the folded cloth out toward him, Souji finally managed to pull it down. He wasn't sure just how big it was, but he knew that the top shelf was usually reserved for the adults. After placing the stool back where he had originally found it, Souji came back outside where Kondo was waiting patiently.

"I think this one's okay." The boy carefully held up the white uniform to show Kondo and the instructor smiled in approval.

"If it's too large we can always come by and get her a different one." Souji held the clothing close to his chest and once again followed after as they finally made their way to the Yukimuras' room. It was slow progress since Kondo had to balance two trays of food, but they eventually found themselves in front of the guest room.

"Yukimura, we brought food," Kondo announced.

"Please come in." A voice answered and Souji slowly slid the door open to reveal the two sisters inside. They walked in and Kondo placed the trays of food down while the boy followed closely behind. "Oh Souji-kun. I didn't realize you were coming too."

"I brought you a clean kimono. I can wash your other one for you," Souji offered, handing her the white clothing.

"Thank you very much. Although I'm sure I'm not so injured that I can't even wash my own clothing." Mayumi thanked the boy and took the offered kimono from the boy and set it aside to change into later. She knew Souji was trying to be nice when she noticed him pouting sadly, and she couldn't help but let him have his way. "But if you insist, I'll leave it to you."

Mayumi could see the small sparkle of satisfaction in the boy's eyes when he realized he had convinced her and she smiled sadly at his adorable and familiar childish antics. Souji reminded her so much of her little brother.

"Yukimura-san, are you okay? Does it still hurt?" he asked timidly. Souji didn't want to look like he was worried about the older woman, but she reminded him of his sister so much he couldn't help but be concerned.

"No, I'm fine Souji-kun. Thank you for worrying about me," she smiled before her expression turned more serious. "Kondo-san, there are matters I would like to speak to you about - mainly about the two of us staying here."

"I won't hear anything of the sort. You two may stay here for as long as you like. I'm not about to kick out two people who have nowhere to go."

"I don't know what to say. Thank you." Everything Inoue told her had been spot on; Kondo really was a one-of-a-kind person. "Although I must insist that you at least allow me to do chores around the dojo. It's the least I could do to thank you for taking us in and nursing me back to health."

"I-" Kondo wanted to tell her that it wouldn't necessary, but there was something about her that told him there would be no changing her mind. He just had to accept that the dojo would have something along the lines of a housekeeper. "Alright then, I'm sure Souji can show you around once you've properly healed."

"There's one more thing I'd like to ask you about. Would you allow Chizuru to become a live-in student after I've recovered?"

"Ah, that's right, She mentioned wanting to become a student after watching the class the other day." Kondo looked at the determined looking girl kneeling next to the raven haired woman and gave her a big grin. "I would love to take her on as one of my students."

"Really?" Chizuru exclaimed, her expression morphing into one of surprise.

"I couldn't say no to someone who is so eager to learn."

"I'll make sure to get strong so I can protect you too, Nee-san!" The girl leapt up and threw her arms around her sister, her enthusiasm becoming contagious as Mayumi smiled and returned the hug. Kondo came closer and lightly ruffled the girl's hair, making her giggle then look up.

"I look forward to having you be one of my students, Chizuru-chan."

* * *

 **Notes** : Thanks for reading! Tune in 2-3 weeks for the next chapter!


	8. Chapter 7 - Grief and Remembrance

**Author's Note:** Hoooly shit, it's been a while since I've updated! Thanks for being patient guys! I hit a block pretty hard and just had no motivation to write at all. Anywhoo, chapter 7 is finally here! I hope you guys enjoy it!

I also realized I never like explicitly stated how old everyone was so here's everyone's age! Chizuru(6) Souji(10) Mayumi(20) Kondo(20) Inoue(24)

\- Zee

* * *

After a few days, Mayumi and Chizuru were properly introduced to the rest of the students, many of who remembered the older woman as the person who beat a certain older student. No one had any qualms about them staying there after the thorough beating they witnessed the other day. Instead, a few of the younger students were quite curious about the new members. Fascination and wonder shone on their innocent faces as they attempted to restrain themselves from asking questions while Kondo was talking. To them, she was everything they strove to train themselves to become at the dojo. Although, not everyone was as thrilled as they were. The same older student quietly seethed at the audacity of allowing females into the dojo, but he couldn't say anything, seeing that Kondo and half of the students there had already accepted them.

Life at the dojo became a normal routine for the two sisters from then on. Chizuru would accompany Mayumi while she did miscellaneous chores as she recovered and every time they passed the sparring hall, the little girl would always peek her head in to catch a glimpse of the students sparring, specifically looking for Souji. Today was no different. Chizuru had been lucky enough to catch the students filing into the sparring hall and snuck over to peek in after everyone had gone in.

"Why hello there, Yukimura-kun." Chizuru jumped at the sound of the familiar voice that greeted her every time she came by the training hall and spun around happily to return the greeting.

"Good morning, Inoue-san!" she chirped, smiling brightly at the older student.

"Come to watch the students again? You really can't wait to join them, can you?" he laughed, amused at Chizuru's enthusiasm when she rapidly nodded her head in agreement. The little girl had become something like a daughter to him and he couldn't help encouraging her to achieve her goals. "Well, I'm sure it won't be much longer. Your sister seems to be healing quite quickly."

Besides Kondo and Souji, only Inoue had been told about when Chizuru would be joining. The man, of course, wholehearted accepted Kondo's decision and cheerfully befriended the little girl, making sure to help both her and her sister feel welcome at the dojo.

Of course, Chizuru was impatient and wanted to start as soon as possible. She wanted to be just like her sister, but now that she had seen the other students, there was someone else she wanted to be like too. Like she did with Mayumi, the girl admired Souji's skill with a sword greatly. He was only a few years older, but he could hold his own against people much larger than himself. As opposed to striving to be just like her sister immediately, aiming to be at Souji's level was a much more realistic and easier goal for her to work toward.

Inoue bid the girl farewell as he entered the hall to prepare before the instructors arrived, and failed to see Chizuru's pouting expression. She wanted to learn too, but she was stuck with chores because her sister still hadn't healed completely. It didn't take long for Mayumi to find the girl still watching the other students as instruction finally started, since she had been in the exact same spot for the past few days.

"Come along now, Chizuru," she said softly, gently ushering the sulking girl away. Chizuru craned her head around so she could watch until the very last second, before they rounded the corner and the hall was out of sight. "Soon, I promise."

Chizuru looked up at her sister with anticipation in her eyes and received a gentle pat on the head for her efforts. However, even as she was handed a broom to sweep around the dojo, Chizuru's mind was still focused on swordsmanship. She looked back to see her sister was distracted and used her broom as a makeshift sword. She tried to imitate the students the best she could, raising the bamboo handle above her head to swing it back down with a 'Hyah!'.

" _Chizuru_ ," her sister's stern voice called.

"S-sorry, Nee-san," Chizuru squeaked, quickly going back to sweeping the ground. Her cheeks burned from embarrassment that she had been caught, but failed to see her sister's amused expression as she put down the cloth she had been using to clean the floor.

"No, not that." Mayumi smiled as she slipped her sandals on and walked over to the sullen girl. "Your grip and stance are a little off. Here, hold your hands further apart and plant your feet to make sure you don't get knocked down."

Chizuru moved her hands and feet as her sister instructed, slowly but surely feeling the difference as she swung.

"It feels easier to move, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," she nodded slowly. "But how come?"

"Well, if you hold your hands too close together or too far apart, you'll end up having less control over your sword. You want your blade to be like another part of your body. And footing is everything. You could be the most skilled swordsman ever, but sloppy footwork will spell disaster."

"Your sister is right." A new voice spoke up and Chizuru whirled around to see Kondo standing there with his trademark smile.

"Kondo-san, good afternoon! Did you finish teaching already?" she chirped happily, running up to the older man to receive the usual pat on the head whenever she greeted him.

"I did, and I see your basic form is already quite good. You're a fast learner."

Chizuru face broke into a wide smile and she beamed from the praise. "Nee-san is a good teacher!"

"Well," Mayumi started, while making her way over to the two under the patio. "If you're getting praise from Kondo-san then I think I've made you wait long enough."

"Does that mean I can join Souji-kun now?" she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation.

"Well, I see no reason why not, as long as Kondo-san is alright with taking you on."

"Of course!" he smiled. "She'll be a wonderful student and I'm sure she'll get along with the others as well."

"You better be okay with waking up early then."

Chizuru didn't even wait to hear what her sister had said and instead dashed off in search for a certain grumpy boy she had befriended. "Souji-kun! I'm going to be your new classmate!"

* * *

Chizuru's first few days as a student passed by in a blur as she finally got a chance to learn alongside all the new friends she was making and especially with Souji. Every day she had the chance to practice and improve. However, amidst the excitement of finally enrolling as a student, something strange happened.

Like every morning since they arrived at the dojo, Chizuru awoke to the soft glow of the first rays of sunlight streaming into their room, but this morning wasn't pleasant like all the others.

"Nee-san! Wake up!" The poor girl was on the verge of tears when she realized Mayumi was still sleeping. Though it didn't seem like much of a problem, Chizuru was panicking. There was never a time in her life that she ever remembered her sister not being awake before she was, so seeing her still fast asleep now made the girl's anxiety shoot through the roof.

Something was wrong. Something was wrong and she didn't know what to do except cry. Routine was one of the few things Chizuru had left to remember their past, and this small change was drastically affecting her. Her own sobs were so loud and her sight blinded by her tears, the girl barely noticed when Mayumi began to stir and pull her down in a sleepy embrace.

"Chizuru, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I woke up and you weren't awake! Nee-san is always awake before me! Always!" Chizuru cried, grabbing fistfuls of Mayumi's kimono as if the woman would disappear. Guilt shown in the woman's eyes as the sleepiness disappeared and realization dawned upon her, and she quickly reassured the girl with comforting words.

"Oh, Chizuru. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sleep in." She could feel the girl's anxiety through their familial bond, and she did her best to alleviate Chizuru's fear - gently rubbing her back while hugging her tight. "Nee-san is awake now. There's no need to cry."

Mayumi couldn't be so selfish anymore. She had to take care of Chizuru no matter what, but that was easier said than done. Just like Chizuru, routine was one of the few things Mayumi had left of their past life and she would be damned if she forgot it. However, that meant training like she always had. There wasn't any chance for her to do her normal duties anymore, but tending to the miscellaneous chores around the dojo was enough to fill most of that void. That being said, most of if not all of her time was dedicated to that, and the only free moment she had to do what she could was at night when everyone was fast asleep.

"Okay, let's dry those tears. You don't want to miss out on breakfast would you?" Chizuru shook her head, but still refused to let go even when Mayumi sat up. She had been so scared. It was like that night all over again when she was jolted awake to see her sister lying there on the ground, limp and unmoving. Just the memory of it all had the girl sobbing all over again. It took a good long while for Mayumi to calm her down again by whispering soothing words and keeping her close to her neck where her scent was strongest.

It took a little while, but Mayumi was finally able to dry Chizuru's tears after many promises of always making sure to wake up before she did; just like how it had always been. Mayumi sent the girl off to breakfast with the usual kiss on the forehead and pat on the head, before leaving to make her rounds to catch any other stragglers who had also accidentally slept in. However, even as she ushered a few sleepy students toward the dining hall, Mayumi couldn't help but feel guilty. She had to be more careful. Not only did she have to take care of Chizuru, she also had to make sure she herself could still protect them if the time ever arose.

And if that meant continuing to train during what little free time she had, then she would do it.

* * *

When Chizuru walked into the dining hall, she immediately made a beeline for Souji who, much to her displeasure, had already started eating breakfast without her. At least he saved her a tray of food so she wouldn't start the day hungry. "Thank you for the food!"

Souji only really gave the girl a cursory side glance before turning his attention back to his cooling food. Unknown to her, he had decided to stop by to check up to see why she wasn't at breakfast yet. However, when he had peeked into their room, his heart had dropped. Sure, he saw Chizuru as a little sister and seeing her cry made him want to hug her, but it wasn't her sadness that had made his spirits fall. It was what Mayumi was doing.

He wanted to be held too. He wanted someone who would always be there to comfort him. _He wanted his sister._

Souji had slipped away as quietly as he arrived, too overcome with past feelings to find his voice anymore. He had decided to eat by himself that morning, but Chizuru ended up happily sitting next to him like she always did, oblivious to what he had seen.

His grumpier than usual expression made Chizuru realize something was off. "Souji-kun? Are you okay?"

The boy stiffened when he saw Chizuru looking at him with a concerned expression. He really needed to learn how to hide his emotions better around her, but for now, he knew a simple teasing would be enough to get her off his back.

"Well, someone decided to sleep in today no matter what I poked this time," he smirked, watching her concerned expression slowly morph into one of horror and aghast. "Also, you were drooling."

"What?! I was not! You take that back!" Souji laughed as he dodged the red-faced girl's attempt to grab him. None of that was true, of course, but it was still worth it to see her reaction nonetheless. The memory of that hug made his heart ache, but laughing with Chizuru now made it all the more bearable.

* * *

The day quickly passed and the moon soon appeared in the sky to replace the setting sun, bathing the land in a soft white glow. Night blanketed the dojo in darkness and only a few stray lamps lit up select rooms, but those were also quickly extinguished. All except one.

Souji quietly snuck out of his room and blew out the candle in his hand before anyone could notice him leaving. It was time for one of his nightly rituals, but as he made his way to the garden he heard something strange - a woman's voice followed by the swing of a katana.

 _"Again..."_

 _"No...too slow...again..."_

 _"You'd be dead. Get back up. Again..."_

 _"Again. Again. Again."_

Souji's curiosity got the better of him and he followed the noises until he found himself in the garden, where he had intended to sneak off to. Making sure to be as quiet as he could, the boy peeked around the corner just in time to see Mayumi tripping backward and falling onto the ground, cursing to herself.

"Yukimura-san!" Souji couldn't help but worry and immediately rushed over to see if she was okay. However, he stopped dead in his tracks when glowing yellow eyes stared back at him. They looked so full of heartache.

"Kaoru?" she whispered.

"Yukimura-san?"

Souji could have sworn he saw a flicker of disappointment in the woman's usually warm eyes, but it was replaced by one of concern a moment later. It must have been a trick of the moonlight because the strange sight was already gone in the blink of an eye. Mayumi picked herself back up and sheathed away her katana, dusting off her hakama before kneeling in front of the startled boy, almost like what he just saw hadn't happened. "Oh… Souji-kun, what are you doing out so late?"

"I uhhh, wanted to watch the stars from the garden," he stuttered, breaking out of his stupor to answer the woman. The boy fidgeted under her gaze before embarrassingly admitting the truth to her. "I can't really sleep without seeing them first. Why are you out here? Are you training?"

"Yes, this is the only time when I can."

"Can I stay and watch?" Souji's eyes lit up with excitement when she confirmed his suspicions. It wasn't every day he got a chance to observe another person's techniques, so he eagerly wanted to stay up a little longer and watch. His hopes were dashed when the older woman shook her head.

"I don't think Kondo-san would be very pleased to find you out so late. Plus, you have to wake up early tomorrow - you have to prepare breakfast with me." Mayumi couldn't help but smile in amusement when the realization of breakfast duty dawned on the boy's face and she gently pat him on the head, smoothing his slightly messy hair. "Perhaps another time, okay?"

She almost wanted to laugh at Souji's pouting expression, if not for the fact that he resembled her little brother almost perfectly. Her heart ached as she turned him around to send him off to bed. "Off you go now, Souji-kun."

"Goodnight, Yukimura-san."

"Goodnight, Souji-kun."

Mayumi's heart clenched painfully at the memory of the boy's expression as she stood up and watched him disappear around the corner. He reminded her so much of her younger brother; another precious person she had lost because she had been too weak to protect him. Now that Souji had left for bed, she could finally address the other person who had also been watching her this entire time.

"If you tell me you're out here to watch the stars too I won't believe you, Kondo-san."

"Ah, I didn't expect you would," Kondo smiled sheepishly while coming out of his hiding spot in the dark hall and making his way next to her in the garden. "However, I have noticed you coming out here to practice for the past few nights. You shouldn't push yourself so hard, especially since your wound is still healing."

"I know," she admitted while laying a hand where her injury used to be, recalling the shooting pain that still plagued her occasionally. "But it's the only way I can keep our parents' memory alive."

"Isn't your survival enough? You are your parents' child."

"There are other memories I'd like to keep alive. My father's kindness and my mother's skill - their legacy lives in me and I will keep them alive no matter what." Mayumi sighed and looked up at the countless stars dotting the night sky, reminiscing on all the memories she had of her past life. "One day, I want to be able to pass them on to Chizuru, like how they taught me."

"Don't sell yourself short, Yukimura-san. There are still other people who need you. Chizuru herself is part of the legacy your parents left behind, and you are as well." He paused for a moment to think over what he could say to the melancholy woman. "I told Souji this when he first came here. He had lost his parents as well, and his older sister, Mitsu, left him in our care."

Mayumi looked back at Kondo curiously, questions clearly swirling in her eyes, but decided to stay silent until the man finished speaking.

"Life dictates all of our lives. Things can happen with no real reason behind it, but that doesn't mean to stop living the life you have been gifted. Every life is a gift. It's unpredictable, but that hasn't stopped us from making it our own. Your past might be gone, but you still have your whole future ahead of you. All you can do is take it day by day and spend them with the people you love the most."

The woman's eyes grew wide with realization as she listened to him talk. She had been so focused on the promises she had made that she had forgotten her own life as well. All she wanted was for Chizuru to be safe and happy, but none of that could be possible if she wasn't there as well. The girl would be heartbroken if anything more happened to her, if this morning was any indication. She had to take better care of herself, for Chizuru's sake and for her own.

"Yes...you're right. I'm sure Mother would be scolding me by this point or Father would be trying his hardest to make me smile again," she sighed, looking up to smile sadly at the night sky. Mayumi could practically see them doing exactly as she said said; her mother would be gently pointing things out just as Kondo had done while her father would physically drag her away from whatever she was doing so he could take her out to do something fun. A comfortable silence filled the air as she reminisced on past memories. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet, a stark contrast to how she had spoken earlier. "Kondo-san, thank you."

"Think nothing of it… Oh, I had originally come here to ask if you wanted a sparring partner. I'm sure it would be easier for you to practice when you can actually see, too."

"Thank you. I'll gladly take you up on your offer."

"Please get some sleep, Yukimura-san. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Kondo-san." Mayumi watched as the young instructor disappeared into the dark hall, and waited for the sound of his footsteps to completely fade away before sighing heavily. She allowed this one moment of weakness as her entire form slumped from the exhaustion and stress she had been hiding. Everyone was worried about her.

Her tired feet lead her to the edge of the small pond and she sat down beside the small rocks bordering it, carelessly pulling her hair out of the pony tail so the dark strands cascaded around her. Everything Kondo said was right, and she should have felt relieved. However, the reflection she saw staring back was still the one responsible for all the terrible things that had passed. No matter what the future held for them...

" _It was still my fault..._ "

* * *

 **Notes** : Thanks for reading! IDK when the next chapter is gonna be up, but I'll try to get something out soon!


	9. Chapter 8 - Fight

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the slow updates! And thanks for being so patient between each update! It's time for badass tiny Chizuru, scary older sis Mayumi, and also a little more angst with poor little Souji.

I'm also going to start putting the time of year or something just to give a sense of time that has passed. I'm too lazy so I'm just gonna do it all right here and then from here on out.

Prologue-Chapter 7 (Early to Mid-February of 1854)

Chapter 8 (Early April of 1854)

\- Zee

* * *

Chizuru's experience as a student was everything she had hoped it would be like. She was surrounded by like-minded peers that supported her and sparred with her whenever they got the chance. And despite the fact that classes were tougher than the girl expected, since she was quite a ways behind in skill, the help she received from her sister, Kondo, Souji, and Inoue helped tremendously. While the adults gave her pointers and helped to fix her posture, Souji attempted to teach her how to read an opponent's moves. Although it was difficult to understand what the boy was trying to say at times, Chizuru still tried her best to put those skills into practice.

Even Mayumi had been warmly accepted by the students, especially by some of the younger ones. They had a tendency to follow her around like little ducklings and help her with the chores when they had the chance so they could be around someone who reminded them of home.

Everything was going fine until-

"You think you're great and all because you have the instructor's favor, don't you?" the student spat, knocking Chizuru to the floor with a hard strike from his bokken. This was the second time this week she had been bullied by the same student her sister had defeated when they first arrived at the dojo. Souji had stopped him the first time it happened when he had been passing by and thoroughly pummeled the student, but this time she had to stand up for herself. She couldn't always rely on someone getting her out of trouble every time. She had to fight for herself. She had to prove her own strength.

Unfortunately, will alone wasn't enough to stop the seemingly never ending onslaught as she crumpled to the ground again after another well placed hit. Everything hurt. Even with her powers kicking in every time a bruise formed, it still stung. Chizuru could barely move a muscle and grab her fallen practice sword without being struck again.

She couldn't let it end like this! She wouldn't let herself be beat without fighting back! She had to be strong so she could protect her sister one day and she would start by standing up to him! But that was easier said than done when she felt him kick her stomach, _hard._ The force of it knocked all the air from her lungs and she curled up, clutching her stomach and coughing as she desperately tried to shield herself from the incoming pain. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she tumbled across the floor after another nasty kick to her side.

" _Aww, is the little girl going to cry?"_ he sneered. _"_ Not so tough now without Okita or your sister, are you?"

Chizuru wanted to deny everything the student said, but she couldn't. He was right. She was useless without them. However, she didn't join the dojo in order to stay weak for the rest of her life. She joined to get stronger so she could take on people like him and protect her sister!

" _Shut up!"_

In the blink of an eye, Chizuru had gone from sprawled on the ground in pain to catching his next blow with her arm, deflecting it away from her body. The blow stung and no doubt her arm was going to be in pain for a while, but taking that hit head on was more than enough to stun older student. He barely had any time to react when said girl shoved his weapon away and picked up her own bokken to strike him in retaliation. The attack shoved him back with more strength than he had felt her using just moments before. However, it wasn't skill that knocked the older boy off balance - it was pure demon strength. Just the aura now surrounding the little girl was enough to have the hair on his arms began standing up on end as fear began to set in. His body wouldn't move no matter what he willed it to do. All he could do was stand there, frozen in terror, as Chizuru glared at him.

" _You have no idea what I can do,_ " she said, her voice carrying a deadly edge. Chizuru was so blinded by the need to prove herself that she was unconsciously tapping into the very power she was forced to keep hidden. Her eyes began to take on an otherworldly golden tint as she readied her bokken to charge the older student. Rage and pride pumped through her veins, fueling her inner demon's demand to show everyone just how strong she really was.

"That's enough! Both of you!"

The glow in Chizuru's eyes immediately died away at the tone of the new voice. She knew that tone meant. It was the voice her sister used whenever something serious happened or so she was told and now it was being directed at her. Her sister's words made her feel so small and insignificant. The bokken she once held so high and proud now fell limp by her side and her eyes were trained to the ground, too scared to look up and meet her sister's gaze.

"And you! Don't think I don't know about your reputation at the dojo. If I hear of this happening to anyone again, you're going to have to answer to me." Even through the words were directed at the older student, Chizuru still flinched back at the harshness of her sister's words. If she was scared just from this, she didn't want to experience the sheer terror the shaking boy was going through. " _Do I make myself clear?_ "

Nothing could describe the absolute dread that shot straight down her spine as the sound of her own heartbeat pounded in her ears. She finally understood. All the strength left her body and she was forced to stand there frozen, her bare feet planted firmly on the wooden floor until her sister said otherwise. The only thing Chizuru was thankful for was that she herself wasn't human, but even then, she couldn't think of anything for more than a few seconds before her mind went blank again. It was almost like she was trapped in a daze, both hyper aware and unaware of her surroundings at the same time. If her sister had said anything more, she couldn't comprehend it, not until the last thing she said.

"Now get out of here."

Chizuru didn't even need to glance up to hear the student tripping over himself in his panicked haste to get as far away as possible before he angered her sister any further. It was only then she regained somewhat control over her body and she dared to lift her head up to meet her sister's gaze. Her stomach sank as she looked back with what seemed to be an indecipherable emotion.

"Chizuru, come with me." Dread filled the little girl's body as the realization of what she had done slowly dawned on her face, but she couldn't say anything as Mayumi began leading her out of the room, not allowing her to get a single word out. Guilt welled up Chizuru's chest while fat tears began rolling down her cheeks as little choked sobs escaped her. She had meant to make her sister proud, not make her mad! The firmness of her sister's hand holding hers was the only thing keeping her from completely dissolving into a teary mess, but it also served as a reminder that she was in some sort of trouble.

All the while, her sister stayed silent, continuing to lead her until they stood in front of their room. Mayumi let go of her hand and slid open the door with silent expectation for her to go inside and stay quiet. Chizuru nervously shuffled in and knelt down in the middle of what felt like an empty void instead of the place that served as their place of rest. Those few moments of silence felt like an eternity as she heard her sister closing the door then moving to sit in front of her.

"Chizuru-"

"Nee-san, I'm sorry! I was so upset! I-!" Chizuru could barely get the words out before she threw herself at her sister, wailing and clutching the navy material of the woman's hakama. "Please don't be mad at me!"

"I'm not mad. We all make mistakes from time to time," she said softly, picking the distraught girl up and gently wiping away her tears. "Does anything hurt? I'm sorry I couldn't stop him earlier."

Chizuru could only shake her head in response. Her whole body still ached from the beating she took, but nothing could compare to the pain of knowing what she did was wrong. Ever since she was young, her mother always made her promise never to show her powers to any human and now that she had broken her promise she felt terrible. She had let her whole family down by breaking her promise, so why wasn't her sister mad? She deserved to be punished for doing such a thing, and yet, her sister responded calmly, without a hint of anger in her voice. Why? She didn't understand!

"Earlier, I said everyone makes mistakes from time to time. That's part of what life is," Mayumi murmured, thinking back on what their grandmother once told her. "Obaa-san once told me that learning from your mistakes is similar to growing a flower. If you give it proper support and fertilizer, it'll grow strong and healthy. But that also means cutting of a bad leaf before it spreads and makes the whole flower sick. It means you should learn from your mistakes so you can grow to be a better person. Does that make sense?"

"Does that mean I'm a bad flower? I don't want to be a bad flower! I want to be a good flower!" Mayumi had to stifle a laugh as Chizuru compared herself to a plant and experienced a mild existential crisis. It was funny. Their mother had used the same metaphor with her when she made a mistake and she had the same reaction Chizuru was going through right now. Now, more than ever, it became clear to Mayumi that she had to become their mother and teach Chizuru all the things she would have learned had the fire not taken everyone away.

"It's my job to make sure you grow up big and strong. So I'll help you learn from your mistakes, okay?" she said, calming the girl down enough so her sobs died down to quiet sniffles. "Can you tell Nee-san everything that happened?"

It took a little bit for Chizuru to recount everything to her, but Mayumi got the gist of what had transpired before she showed up. The student had forced her into a fight and beat her without any mercy. It was only when Chizuru felt like the student had insulted her for hiding in her sister's shadow did she break her promise and nearly went all out on him. Mayumi knew she should discipline her sister; to teach her why what she had done was wrong, but her voice had already done all that needed to be done earlier. There was no need to any more. That had been punishment enough.

"I understand you were mad at him, but that's not something you need to use your abilities for." Chizuru fidgeted with the fabric of her hakama; she knew her sister would say that. It's what their mother would have told her too if she had found out what had happened. But she didn't expect what her sister said next. "That's why I let you join the dojo. I know you can be strong even without using your power."

Chizuru couldn't believe her ears. Nee-san knew she was strong?

"And I want you to know I couldn't be more proud of you for standing up for yourself. You've grown so quickly these past few weeks. I'm so, so proud of you and I know everyone else would be too."

Nee-san was proud of her? Chizuru was speechless as her sister looked at her with adoration and the girl could only throw her tiny arms around her neck in response. She was so happy. All she ever wanted was to make her sister proud and the tightening of the arms around her plus the warm aura that surrounded her was all she needed to know to be content.

"Chizuru! Chizuru, are you okay?!" Their little moment was cut short by the sudden noise of their door slamming open and Souji appearing in their doorway looking panicked and clearly out of breath.

Souji had been waiting for Chizuru in the sparring hall to practice more with her, but when she didn't show up even after the shadows had lengthened and the air had cooled, he knew something was wrong. He knew that older student had tried to beat her once before and he was terrified it would happen again. Chizuru was the first real friend he had that was around his age and he'd be damned if anyone hurt her. That was when he found that very same older student huddled away in the corner of a spare room.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" he demanded, roughly grabbing the male by the collar.

Fear. That was all Souji saw when he looked into the other student's eyes. A fear that penetrated straight through into his heart.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please! I'll never do it again! I'm sorry!" Souji didn't understand. The older student kept repeating apologies over and over again even as he shoved him aside and stormed out of the room. This was the first time that particular student actually looked apologetic during the couple of months Souji had been at the dojo. What had happened?

He shook his head, baffled, and tried to push the image of that cutting terror to the back of his mind, but it was no use. That look tormented him to the point that fear gripped his heart as his mind conjured up all kinds of scenarios that Chizuru could have gone through. He had to find her, now more than ever. Souji could only think of one other place Chizuru could be and as he neared her shared room he heard two female voices coming from inside.

"Chizuru! Chizuru, are you okay?!" Souji burst into their room without a second thought. All he wanted to know was that she was okay, but seeing the girl clinging to her sister meant something had happened.

"Souji-kun!" Chizuru scrambled out of her sister's arms and crashed into the out of breath boy, ignoring the pain that still wracked her body. "I'm sorry I didn't get to practice with you! I really wanted to; I didn't mean to forget!"

Chizuru expected Souji to forgive her like he always did, brushing it off like the problem was an insignificant fly, but he didn't answer. He was unnaturally silent as his chest heaved and his green eyes looked blankly ahead with a glassy stare. In front of him sat the one person he wanted the most looking at him with a concerned expression he wanted to see.

"Nee-san, what's wrong with Souji-kun?" Chizuru asked, timidly letting go of the older boy so her sister could kneel in front of him.

"Souji-kun, are you feeling alright? You look a little pale," Mayumi asked softly, her eyebrows knitting together in concern as she smoothed back his hair to press her hand against his forehead.

Something twisted painfully in his heart as her warm hand settled on his head. Memories of his sister began to flood back once more as he looked at Mayumi, her worried expression almost identical to the one he always saw on his sister. When Mayumi was around, it was almost like Mitsu was here with him.

But she wasn't. She _wasn't_ Mitsu. His eyes burned as he bitterly thought of the adoring stares the other students would give her. How this was just a usual display of Mayumi's kindness, one she'd give any of the students in the dojo if they asked for it. She didn't see him like he saw her. She saw him as just another boy in the dojo. There was nothing special about him. To think _he_ , a lowly student, believed she would be able to fill that gaping void in his heart.

"I-...I have to go," Souji blurted out, taking a step back so the comfort and warmth of Mayumi's hand left him. He wanted this, but at the same time, this was the very thing he didn't want. He _couldn't_.

"Souji-kun?" But before she could ask what had suddenly come over him, Souji had already dashed out of the room, leaving Mayumi and Chizuru staring after his retreating back in shock and surprise.

Tears stung at his eyes as he ran blindly, allowing his feet to take him wherever they would lead. He would never be able to hold a candle to Chizuru when it came to her sister's love.

He could never be a part of their family.

* * *

 **Notes** : Thanks for reading! IDK when the next chapter is gonna be up, but I'll try to get something out soon!


	10. Chapter 9 - Onee-san

**Author's Note:** Time to give Souji a little bit of happiness in his sad dreary life! Featuring two porridge cameos with and without green onions.

Now that I've moved back home I should have way more time to write! Also would you guys like it if I complied all of my NSFW Hakuoki reader inserts here?

Chapter 9 (Early April of 1854)

\- Zee

* * *

Souji ran as fast as his legs could take him, stumbling as the tears blinded his vision. Wheezing for breath, he finally collapsed into a ball when he reached his old hiding place - a spot he hoped he would never have to use again. But that was all too much pain for his little broken heart to handle. He wanted to forget, but the more he forced himself to shut out the past memories of his sister, the more prevalent they became. Clutching his head, Souji pulled at his hair too tight, trying to block the emotional pain with physical pain to no avail. Even the memories of what he hoped Mayumi saw him as, rose to the surface and the images of both women melded together. Large, fat tears rolled down his cheeks while he brought his knees to his chest, wishing for someone to love him.

"Onee-san..." His small voice cracked under all the swirling emotions he was dealing with while the illusion of that combined person wrapped their arms around his shaking body, murmuring soothing words he wanted to hear. Souji so desperately wanted to feel the warmth of the embrace and the safety and comfort it would bring, but the mirage faded before his eyes and he was left cold and helpless in the fading light. He was alone again. Completely and utterly alone.

"Souji-kun, wait up!" Chizuru cried out, intent on chasing after her best friend and person she considered an older brother, but her sister's voice stopped her before she could step one foot outside the room.

"Give him some time to himself," Mayumi said, her eyes shining with silent concern. At a loss of what to do, Chizuru trudged back to her sister and buried her face in the older woman's lap. So many things were happening all at once and it made her head spin. Her emotions were all over the place — Chizuru couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. It wasn't long until the familiar tightening in her chest and slight burn at the corners of her eyes returned, leaving the poor girl crying all over again because she didn't know how she could help Souji feel better. "Sometimes people need to be left alone before they feel like talking. It helps them calm down a bit."

Chizuru tried her best to understand, but with the swirling emotions jumbling her mind and heart, they made it difficult to understand anything at all. However, the familiar feeling of her sister's hand stroking her hair gently eased those worries away. Little by little, she began to realize what those words meant. The last time she had been upset, she didn't want to talk to anyone at first. It took a few hours of crying in the dark for her to finally open up to Souji when he came and found her. Chizuru wanted to do the same and help make him feel better too, but was at a loss of what to do.

"We can find him after we make dinner. How does that sound?" Mayumi's soothing voice murmured above her, her hand seemingly clearing away the cluttered mess weighing heavily on Chizuru's mind with each pass. The girl looked up and nodded timidly, trying desperately to rub the tears away to stay strong for Souji, but they kept on falling no matter how hard she tried. "It's okay to cry for your friends. It means you care a lot about them."

Chizuru could feel herself being lifted up into her sister's lap and her hands being gently moved away so Mayumi could dab at the corners of her teary brown eyes. For some reason, when she did it, the tears slowed and magically stopped, almost as if she had commanded it. Her sister's comforting embrace never failed to make everything bad melt away and even now, Chizuru could feel her sadness slowly diminishing until all that was left of it were her reddened eyes and stuffed nose.

"Let's go make dinner, okay?" Mayumi set the still sniffling girl back onto the ground and held Chizuru's smaller hand as she got up and began walking out of the room. Chizuru was silent the entire way there, her mind too occupied with coming up with ways to help Souji feel better to talk about anything. All she wanted was to see her brother happy with that usual smile she always saw.

Even Mayumi couldn't push her worries aside for the young boy. She knew giving him time and space to calm down would be the most ideal for both parties, but there was another part of her that wanted nothing more than to find him and keep him safe from all the dangers in life. She wanted to hold him close until he was feeling like his old self again. Souji had easily found his way into her heart with his familiar antics and strong will, so it was no surprise he was her favorite out of all the students in the dojo. He always seemed to pop out at the most opportune, and sometimes inopportune, times to bug her about one thing or another - not that it bothered her. She enjoyed his company and having someone so similar to a person she lost helped fill that hole in her heart just a little.

"Umm..." Chizuru gently tugged on her sister's hand, too scared her voice wouldn't be heard, until Mayumi knelt down to her level. "Can we make something special for Souji-kun?"

"Something special? What did you have in mind?" Mayumi knew it would have to be simple since they didn't have much to work with in the first place, but she would try her hardest to make what Chizuru thought would help cheer Souji up best.

"I remember Souji-kun told me he likes food that reminds him of home," she said timidly. It was the only thing Chizuru could think of, and even if it wasn't much, she was sure it would cheer him up at least a little bit. "So maybe porridge?"

"Without green onions, right?" A small smile appeared on Chizuru's face and she nodded at her sister's addition. Souji never did like green onions and the first time they made him food with the aforementioned garnish, they had to persuade him quite a bit before he would even consider eating it. He, of course, pouted the entire time, but Mayumi had promised not to put anymore in if he ate it this once and gave him a piece of her fish afterwards for being a good boy. Some of the other students tried to do the same, but she had just smiled and ruffled Souji's hair. That one time was for him and him alone. "Okay, can you help wash the vegetables?"

Chizuru was always tasked with little things like this since as much as she enjoyed cooking and learning from her sister, the fire frightened her. She appreciated the small gesture and gladly accepted the task she was given, doing her best to look away from the stove when she could. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't a feeling she could ignore either.

When they arrived at the kitchen, the other students tasked to help with dinner had already started doing the simpler tasks, such as making the rice and preparing the water needed for soup. Luckily, tonight's chores fell upon the older students since Kondo and Shuusai were gone from the dojo for the day, so they and Mayumi were temporarily in charge of overseeing things until they returned. Everything went by smoothly and before long, trays of food were being carried to the dining hall where many hungry mouths awaited. All except one. Chizuru had helped carry some of the food over, but she didn't see Souji in his usual spot. Did he not come back yet?

"Nee-san..." Chizuru nervously skirted around the kitchen to stay as far away from the stove as possible and hid behind her sister's legs so she didn't have to face the fire alone. As long as Nee-san was with her, she would do her best to try and overcome her fears. "Souji still hasn't come back yet..."

"Let's give him a little longer, okay?" Mayumi replied, putting the finishing touches on Souji's porridge. There hadn't been enough rice leftover after putting some aside for Kondo and Shuusai, so she used her own rice and pieces of her fish to season the little dish. It wasn't much, but it was all she could do with what she had.

"Oh, it's coming down pretty hard." It was a passing comment from one of the students, but the sudden realization of the kind of weather made Mayumi freeze. If Souji wasn't in the hall, then he must still be in the rain. The small earthenware pot clattered against the table as she set it down harder than expected in her haste and ran past a few students, only calling back to tell them to leave three trays behind.

"Idiot!" Mayumi cursed to herself. She had been so focused on making something for Souji she didn't even notice the change in weather until it was too late. Rain poured from the sky, filling the large puddles that littered the ground even more than they already were. She had to get to him and fast! There was only one spot Mayumi could think of where Souji could possibly be hiding; in the garden where he watched the stars. It was a special place to the boy, so there was no doubt he would go there at a time like this.

"Nee-san, wait!" Mayumi had already run out into the rain when Chizuru called out to her. The little girl had followed her the entire way here and looked ready to run out and join the search. "I'll help look too!"

"No, stay out of the rain! Get some dry towels and meet me back at the kitchen!" she yelled over the torrential rain. Mayumi didn't need to repeat herself as she sprinted into the garden, knowing Chizuru would do as she said. Now, all she had to do was find the poor boy stuck in the rain. "Souji!"

His clothes had long been soaked as Souji continued to stay curled up in a ball, not caring about the puddle of muddy water growing around him. He thought he heard someone calling for him, but it was probably just another figment of his imagination. Kondo wasn't here, so no one would bother looking for him. No one probably even noticed he was missing. No one would come and get him.

"Souji! There you are!" He felt someone picking him up and cradling him against their chest, but it was all just an illusion, right? There was no way this warmth was real. His sister wasn't here. Mayumi didn't see him that way. Everything was a figment of his wishful thinking. So why? Why did the feeling of pelting rain stop? Why did those arms around him feel so real and warm? Why did it feel like someone was caring for him; loving him?

Souji felt everything that happened; the arms tightening around him, someone's warmth against his frigid skin, a girl's voice crying out his name, the cold wet feeling going away and being replaced by dryness and warmth. It was everything he wished for. What a nice dream; to be reunited with both his sisters. One had been married off and the other had no choice but to bring him here. Had they come to take him back home? Could they finally be a family again?

He could practically feel Mitsu's hands drying his hair while Ken fretted over him for playing in the rain too long again. But as the rain was dried from his face, it wasn't green eyes looking back. They were brown. It wasn't a bad thing though, those brown eyes held the same warmth and love he expected to see from the green eyes. It was nice.

"Souji-kun, are you hungry?" Chizuru asked quietly while bringing over a tray of food and placing it next to the boy. The entire time since her sister brought him back, he refused to let go of her or even leave her lap so it made getting him out of those wet clothes difficult, but they managed eventually. Souji quietly thanked for the food then wordlessly picked up the bowl of rice and began eating, all the while still refusing to leave Mayumi's lap.

Only after Souji began eating did Chizuru bring over the two remaining trays and begin eating, but Mayumi ignored the food, instead focusing on toweling off Souji's hair until she deemed it finally dry enough. Even then, she didn't touch her food at all, but rather kept a comforting grip around the boy. His comfort was priority over anything else.

After observing Souji for a little while longer, Mayumi finally began eating and the three of them ate in silence. No words were needed. Little by little, the food slowly disappeared from their trays and before long, all that was left were empty plates and bowls.

"Nee-san?" Chizuru said timidly, tugging gently on the older woman's sleeve to catch her attention. "Can I bring it down?"

Mayumi nodded in response, watching Chizuru's petite form climbing onto a small wooden stool to carefully bring down the small clay pot and set it in front of Souji. The boy looked up silently as his body shifted forward when Mayumi lifted the lid and revealed the still steaming porridge inside. The sight of the comforting food caused a slew of memories from a time before the dojo to come flooding back. The was the exact thing his older sister would make for him whenever he was feeling upset. The dish had practically become a staple in his life after their parents died and younger sister was married off. It was a small joy in his life that kept him going day after day.

But after he was left in the care of the dojo, that all stopped and it became harder and harder for Souji to have a positive outlook on his future. It wasn't until he found something else to sink himself into did he begin to brighten up again, however, that childish glee and innocence was nowhere to be found. But now, all those feelings flooded back and Souji couldn't help the tears that fell between each bite. It felt right - like home again.

Like family.

 _Like love._

Slowly, between each sob, Souji brought another spoonful up to his mouth, savoring the familiar flavors and simple texture of his comfort food. It was almost like everything had gone back in time. Sadly, that little moment faded all too quickly back into reality as the pot was scraped clean of food.

"I'm sorry it wasn't much, but we wanted to do something that would make you happy." Mayumi's gentle voice was the only other sound resonating in the quiet kitchen amidst the soft crackles of dying embers and steady thrum of rain. Even that was too much for his little fragile heart to handle.

"I don't just want to be another student to you!" Souji blurted out, throwing himself at the woman behind him and burying his face into her chest. Mayumi's eyes widened a fraction at the boy's heartfelt confession, then softened as she slowly carded her fingers through his brown locks. "Onee-san..."

Mayumi had a feeling this was what was on Souji's mind. She recently found the boy seeking out her company more and more often. It was cute really, how many of the students flocked to her, but Souji was different. She felt something more whenever he was around or whenever she spent time with him. Something like what they lost in the fire.

"Souji," Mayumi started, pausing to give herself a moment to think about how to properly word what she wanted to say. She had felt Chizuru's little arms wrapping around Souji's waist when a little muffled sob came from him. In the short time they had been with him, they both grew to love him dearly. What Souji wanted Mayumi to be was exactly what he was to them currently - a sibling. Not someone to completely replace the brother they had lost in the fire, but more someone who helped fill that hole. "We've never told anyone this, but we had a brother once too - Chizuru's twin. You're very similar to Kaoru."

"K-Kaoru?" The sound of Souji shakily uttering her twin's name had Chizuru clinging even tighter to the older boy, tears beginning to prick at the corners of her eyes.

"Yes, you reminded me of him in so many ways." Souji's heart sank at the woman's words. So, was he nothing more than a replacement for their dead brother? "That is what I believed at first."

"The more I got to know you, the clear it became that you were nothing like him at all. Yes, there were a few similarities, but there was so much more to you than I first thought. Your passion, your fight, your desire to overcome all odds no matter what." Praise. Rather than pitying him, like many others had done, Mayumi was praising him. She was able to bring up all the childlike things he had worked so hard to repress in order to become a real samurai one day. He wanted to be a boy again, just like how he had been before all this had happened. "You could never be Kaoru, but you are Souji. The little firecracker who would take on all of Japan if he so wanted. And, if you still want to after hearing all of that, our brother."

Mayumi could clearly feel Souji's tiny shoulders shaking as his grip on her tightened and his crying growing louder despite being muffled by her kimono. She had hit the nail on the head. A while back, Kondo had told her a little bit about Souji's predicament - how his sisters had no choice but to do the things they did in order to keep their little brother and themselves alive. They loved him, there was no doubt about that, and they were willing to do anything so he could grow up in a better environment that they could provide. All of it was for him.

A boy who lost both his sisters and two sisters who lost their brother. What irony that the three of them would be brought together to, albeit a little awkwardly, fill that empty space in each other's lives.

"Onee-san!" The once quiet hiccups grew into full blown sobs as Souji's dam of emotions finally burst open. It had been so long since he had felt this kind of loving warmth and now that he had that feeling again, he didn't want to let go. He would _never_ let go this time. He couldn't stop what happened to Ken and Mitsu, but he would do everything he could to protect Chizuru and Mayumi. He would become strong for his sisters, both from the past and the present. But for now, he could show weakness. Even if they weren't really his sisters by blood, he was overjoyed.

And if Kondo happened to see this sweet moment as he passed by the kitchen after returning, he never said anything about it. He wouldn't interrupt this moment that all three of them needed. He just quietly tip-toed away with a smile on his face. Perhaps they could lessen the burden of loss on each other's hearts.

* * *

A week had passed since that one rainy night and Souji had begun to act more and more like his age, reclaiming bits of his lost childhood he had been so abruptly forced to give up. Chizuru, of course, was more than happy to join the boy in his antics while Mayumi had to step in from time to time so they wouldn't get too rowdy. It seemed that the dojo had gotten a little bit brighter ever since the sisters came. The students seemed happier whenever they saw Mayumi around and in turn made Kondo's job of teaching them a little easier. However, she couldn't fix everything. Especially not herself.

Late at night, after all of the students had gone to bed, a few candles dimly lit up the sparring hall while the sounds of bokken clashing emanated from within. Mayumi had finally taken Kondo up on his offer to be her sparring partner. There was only so much she could practice on her own and even if it wouldn't be the same as sparring with her mother or father, it would have to do. She had no choice. It was this or risk everyone finding out what she and Chizuru really were, but that didn't stop Mayumi from blowing off as much steam as she could.

Kondo believed himself to be a fairly strong swordsman since he was an instructor and regularly sparred with all of his students, but this; this was something else entirely. None of the students hit as hard or as fast as Mayumi did and she forced him back with another particularly powerful blow. Those swords she had weren't just family heirlooms or decorations, as he believed them to be. There was a reason she carried them and it wasn't just for show; beating one of his students showed exactly that. Beneath the kind nature and smiling face, something deadly lay dormant, lurking just beneath the surface - patiently waiting for its chance to be unleashed. The moment she intentionally picked up a sword, that caring air melted away for a monster to arise in her place. He knew from feeling alone if anyone stood to oppose her and she decided to draw her sword, there would only be one possible outcome to that fight.

A shiver ran down his spine and he broke into a cold sweat when he finally recovered and got a proper look at his opponent. Her chest heaved from exertion, much like how his was, but there was more. So, so much more. The way her inky black hair hung down to shadow her face and her stone cold eyes glinted terrifyingly in the dim candlelight screamed one thing and one thing only.

 _Demon_.

As he picked himself up off the ground and readied himself, Kondo prayed he would never get on the woman's bad side. He would rather face an entire army head on, with the smallest sliver of a chance of getting out alive, than experience her wrath and meet with certain death.

" _Again._ "

He didn't dare disobey.

* * *

 **Notes** : Thanks for reading! It looks like I get a chapter done about every month give or take so I guess come back in a month? That is unless I get particularly inspired!


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